A Promise From the Past
by lichenstein-blop
Summary: 10 years ago a certain incident caused Rikuo to leave the Nura clan and drove the family into despair. One day 10 years later, Rikuo comes back. But something's wrong. Rikuo is an enemy? and he doesn't seem to remember anything about the Nura clan at all. What happened at that incident 10 years ago? What happened to Rikuo?
1. Chapter 1

**A PROMISE FROM THE PAST**

**WARNINGS: Rihan's alive, Yamabuki wasn**'t used as Hagomoro gitsune's vessel, Nurarihyon's still young and Rikuo and his night form are two different people ( THEY'RE BROTHERS)

**Anyway please enjoy :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NURARIHYON NO MAGO**

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

**- AT THE NURA CLAN MAIN RESIDENCE- **

On the highest branch of the _sakura_ tree, there sat the charismatic, short-tempered and fearful _sandaime_ of the Nura Clan. He was sitting with his legs crossed, wearing a black _kimono_ and a blue _haori_ draped over his shoulders while the wind blew against his black and white hair protruding out the back of his head. His crimson eyes stared far out in the distance while he had this stern expression embedded on his face. Any _yokai_ that saw him while passing by definitely would have thought something along the lines of

" Rikun-sama is in deep thought! He must be thinking about the future of the Nura clan! What a thoughtful and promising third heir!"

However, for those that knew him, Rikan would sit there every time he needed to sort out his emotions. After a while of silence from Rikun, a vein suddenly popped from his fore head.

" ARGHHHHH" he screamed out while punching the tree. Then a sudden pipe hits him in the head causing him to lose balance and fall into the pond.

Rikun jumps emerges out of the pond with a lump at the back of his head and another vein popping out.

" What the hell was that for _Jiji_ !" he yelled at the man sitting on the porch

He was no other than the Lord of the Pandemonium, Nurarihyon . He also had hair protruding from the back of his head except that it was golden-black instead of white. The tip of the hair was tied up by a hair tie. He wore a purple kimono that had yellow zigzags on the edges with a navy blue haori draped over.

" That's what I want to say you stupid grandson, what do you think you're doing venting out your frustration on yohime's favourite tree?" Nurarihyon growled

" That's no reason to throw you're pipe at me! " Rikun argued while jumping towards Nurarihyon getting ready fly kick him. Deep down, Rikun did know that it was indeed a legitimate reason but he refused to believe it.

Nurarihyon smirked and side-stepped out of the way, causing Rikun to miss and fall over in the room

"you're 100 years too early to fly kick me" he smiled broadly laughing at Rikun

Then suddenly two other laughs joined in and Rikun turned to see who else was there insulting him. It was his father, Nura Rihan and his mother, Yamabuki Otome which didn't seem too surprising for him. His father too had hair protruding out but it was completely black with a pony tail hanging from the back of his neck. His mother was beautiful and had long black hair. She was wearing a flower patterned kimono while leaning on Rihan's green and black stripped one.

" Hahahaha, it seems like you still have a long way to go Rikun" Rihan said teasingly

" Shut up! just you wait, one day I'll definitely fly kick you and Jiji together!" Rikun then stood up fixing his kimono and draining the water out of it.

" Rikun-kun still can't seem to beat Rihan-sama and Nurarihyon-sama yet " Otome chuckled

"_kaa-san_! not you too!" Rikun pouted as no one was on his side " Forget it, being with you guys will only make me more annoyed, I'm going to take a wal-" but he was cut off by a sudden scream

"_WAKA_!"

Rikun sweat dropped as he took off through the back gate.

The running of a young girl suddenly came to the garden where they all were. She had long hair in different shades of blue, light blue from the top gradually getting darker. Her eyes were a gold-yellow sort of colour and she wore a white kimono matched with a pure, white scarf while a _tasuki _tied back the long sleeves of her kimono_._ She was no other than Tsurara the _Yuki-Onna_.

"Tsurara-chan what's the matter?" Otome questioned

"Listen to this Otome-sama! Waka stole the food we prepared AGAIN!" Tsurara complained while unconsciously freezing the ground around her and releasing some ice-cold air.

"Ohhh~" Otome collectedly said to herself while expressing a radiant yet confusing smile. It sent chills down everyone's spines excluding Nurarihyon, all the other's feared what was beyond that smile of hers. Rihan and Tsurara took a glimpse at Otome, and as expected, was emitting a strong, frightening _youki_. Rihan immediately tried to draw back, turning around rigidly trying not to not catch Otome's attention but accidentally stepped on a twig which proved otherwise.

Otome walked towards Rihan who was frozen in his wife's fear, and gripped him tightly on his shoulder, stopping him from escaping.

" Please bring Rikun back immediately, I would like to have a small chat with him" Otome said sweetly but Rihan could see the icy-cold blizzard behind her.

" R-Right..." Rihan could only mutter back before going out to do as his wife told him.

Nurarihyon sat there, casually drinking his sake while enjoying what was happening before, he couldn't help but chuckle.

_Even if Rihan is the fear less Nidaime of the Nura clan, it seems like he still can't hold it against any of his wife. Rikun sure has some guts each and every time this happens, he just doesn't learn does he? It's almost as if every time he faces the consequences he resets his memory. He must take after the great and mighty me. _

Nurarihyon thought grinning to himself proudly. Then he glanced over at Tsurara who was fidgeting with her fingers. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Rikun when she thought about what would happen when he came back. She sighed deeply in utter guilt.

_Sorry, Waka..._

* * *

**-OUT ON THE STREETS OF UKIYOE TOWN-**

Rikun walked through the streets while scratching his head after running away.

" Tsk, busted again huh? I guess there's no dinner for more again tonight. Geez, Kaa-san can be scarier than Oyaji or Jiji when she gets serious."

Rikun wondered through the streets disguised in his human form but he still caught the attention of the many girls and ladies he passed by. His hair hanged down over his shoulders, dual colours of black and white while he still wore his kimono. Not that it didn't attract enough attention already, wearing something not in fashion but his deep crimson eyes left a deep impression on almost anyone, as if they were entranced by a spell.

Rikun decided to look around a bit more before heading home, two boys that he saw at a shop caught his attention. They looked like brothers, one who was clearly much older and more responsible and the other was quite carefree and adorable. Rikun witnessed the younger one drop the ice-cream he was eating on his clothes, already tearing up. The older child just kind of sighed and wiped it clean handing his ice-cream to the younger child who immediately beamed in joy.

Memories started to re-surface in Rikun's head causing him a headache. He was finally distracted earlier because of the commotion his grandpa created by throwing a pipe at him. Experiencing these feelings once a day was more than enough. He quickly sped to the direction of the Nura clan, fearing that he might lash out on someone because he was unable to control his emotions.

Rikun arrived at the entrance of the forest which was located in front of his house, still feeling nauseous from his headache. Walking through the forest alone and baking in the afternoon rays of light that seeped in through the gaps between the leaves gave Rikun some peaceful thinking time, though it's not that he didn't have any but silence in the Nura clan was quite rare for many reasons.

He couldn't help but bring up memories of that day, even though it was quite fragmented. The boys from earlier contributed quite a bit, especially when the little brother smiled oddly and cheerily. It reminded him of his own little brother, who used to smile randomly regardless of reason.

_Why did he leave? Was is because of that accident? -_ Rikun's face dropped, slightly pained.

_How come he didn't inform me and decided himself despite being a wimp and a cry-baby?- _Rikun's second long remorse immediately recovered and his face scrunched up, slightly annoyed.

Just as Rikun was about to let out his frustration on a nearby tree, a scream came from deeper into the forest along a with a familiar yet malice youki that was carried by the wind. As Rikun quickly ran deeper and deeper into the forest he could hear the sound of a sword slashing and groans but also an odd ringing sound of chains hitting each other. Many smaller yokai of the Nura clan were lying beside the road, collapsed, but as much as he wanted to check on his fellow members, he still rushed towards the source.

_Tsk, there's still some bastard that dares to trod on the Nura clan territory, he must be plain stupid or just suicidal. But that youki, where have I felt it before?_

Rikun knew he was close and he definitely wasn't going that bastard get out of here unscathed. The number of collapsed yokai grew, infuriating Rikun even more. He could finally see a silhouette walking deeper into the shadows. From what Rikun could tell, he had a small build and he was holding a _katana._

Rikun felt that his youki was slowly dispersing. _He's trying to get away._

"Wait. Did you think you could just nonchalantly walk on the Nura clan premise, attack of clan members and we'll just sit quietly while watching you leave? Tell me what clan you're from and what you're trying to achieve" Rikun demanded in a sinister tone walking forwards, closer to the trespasser. His crimson eyes emerged from the shadows, burning with wrath. He held his _Nenekirimaru, _ready to unsheathe it so that Rikun could take the guy down quickly if he wasn't pleased with the answer.

_What's this? My blood is boiling, and my heart is beating louder and louder. What exactly is it about this guy that makes me feel so nervous?_

The guy stopped in his tracks and turned around in response to Rikun's orders. Rikun was surprised, usually when he was angry, they couldn't feel his presence there with his fear activated or if they were tougher, most enemies couldn't move because of they were weighed down by the intensity of Rikun's fear. This guy, however, didn't flinch at all when he turned around and faced Rikun.

"I can't tell if you have guts or just a idiot-" He stopped in his sentence as he took a good look at the face looking back at him.

_Eh? short, dishevelled hair of brown up top and black down at the neck, big brown eyes, small build and a smell of both human and yokai. _A memory flashed in Rikun's mind.

_" Look here Rikun-niisama! Rikuo got a lolly!" said a young boy with a ridiculously large smile waving around a lolly. _

Rikun's eye widened in realisation as he drew back slightly.

"R-Rikuo?"

**-TO BE CONTINUED-**

* * *

1) Sakura : cherry blossoms

2) Shodaime, Nidaime, Sandaime : First Heir, Second Heir and Third Heir

3)Kimono : A long, loose robe with wide sleeves

4)Haori: The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by women, men and children

5)Yokai: Demon

6)Youki: Demonic Aura

7)Jiji: Ruder way of saying Grandpa

8)Oyaji: Ruder way of saying Dad

9)Kaa-san: Mother, mum

10)Waka: Young master

11)Nenekirimaru: A sword that cuts Demons

12)Yuki-Onna: A type of demon, snow-woman


	2. Chapter 2

**A Promise From the Past**

**Chapter 2**

HELLOOO :D LET ME APOLOGISE TO THE READERS WHO HAVE READ CHAPTER 2 ALREADY I WASN'T VERY SATISFIED WITH THE STORY AND THOUGHT THAT THERE WERE A FEW INCONSISTENCIES WHICH MADE IT VERY HARD FOR ME TO WRITE THE THIRD CHAPTER. I REMOVED THE OLDER CHAPTER 2 AND ITS GONNA BE REPLACED, BUT SOME IDEAS WILL STILL BE USED SO I HOPE YOU CAN FORGIVE MY SELFISH REQUEST AND FORGET ABOUT THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER AND READ THIS ONE AGAIN. Yes I am a amateur so please be lenient on criticisms and all and i will try not to do this again T.T

**Warnings: **Rihan's not dead, Yamabuki wasn't used as a host, Nurariyhon is still young and Rikuo and his night from are 2 different people

BTW I got permission from Marisay-chan to use the name Rikun for Rikuo's night form. So i will change his name to Rikun for the further chapters, I hope his would make his named easier to remember :D

PLEASE ENJOY :3

* * *

**- A place in Kyoto , a week ago -**

"I don't suppose you can go some where first and start the preparations? " A alluring voice behind the screens asked

"Where? Will it kill some time?" A younger boy leaning on the wall responded back

"Ukiyoe Town"

"...tsk.."

"What's wrong? Does it ring a bell?"

"No, it just irritates me for some reason" he murmured back meekly " Isn't that the place where the Nura Clan is located?" Quickly recovering from his few seconds of irritation.

" Ho ho? So you know your facts. I'm so proud to be your _mother_."

"What do I do exactly as preparation?"

"Observe."

"That sounds boring"

"Hahahaha, don't worry, it will be extremely amusing for **them**." Soft snickering could be heard from behind the screens_. _

"Not for me?"

"Then try find me a delicious 'snack' before I arrive. It can be anything, but I really want..."

* * *

**-BACK IN THE PRESENT-**

* * *

" R-Rikuo?"

Rikun muttered out as he examined this boy in detail. He had dual colored hair-chocolate,brown up top and black down bottom-and his build was small and slender. He was a replica of the boy in Rikun's memories in every conceivable way but of course Rikun noticed that this similarity started and ended with just that. Despite the human-yokai smell from the boy, the aura surrounding the boy was almost the polar opposite to the one in his memories.

The boy in his past had an aura similar to a sunshine, like his mother. He expressed his emotions so openly, crying when he was sad, laughing when he was happy and he would always put others before himself. It was like an innate ability for him to bring people together and deep in his eyes reflected no fear,anger or any egotistical emotions even though he had a knack for tricking people. Everyone would believe him after he showed them his smile and they would easily fall into his traps, but this was only when he was having a little boy before Rikun was like a exposing himself to anyone and never letting anyone familiarize themselves with him to a certain limit. He had a constant cheeky smile as his facade and he seemed to have fooled many but to Rikun, it reeked of phoniness.

He was also dressed in an odd way as well. He wore a red parka then a school uniform over the top. It was probably a middle school uniform by the looks of it. Rikun had often seen those black uniforms here and there when he went out exploring the streets. However this boy had another youki lingering around him, it was a youki with malice that concentrated around his left hand and it sent chills down Rikun's spine. He also carried a sword that he seem to have killed the yokai with.

_Why is that sword so sparkly clean? Where is all the blood? _

Rikun looked around and realised something odd. He cleared his senses and he immediately realised that this area didn't reek of blood. Earlier he was too conscious of the youki and overlooked the most trivial things. He grabbed the nearest yokai and inspected him.

_Hmmmm? He's alive! But he knocked out. What did this boy did do_?...Is it the sword!?

Rikun's observations were spot on. The sword that the boy carried was different to most swords that Rikun has seen. It wasn't like the Nenekirimaru which was made an Onmyouji and can only cut yokais nor was it like the swords some humans wield as well in the back alleys. This sword had the light reflecting on the wrong end. Which means that the sharp side and the blunt side were reversed. Why this boy used this was beyond Rikun's imagination.

"Oh! Is this the Nura Clan?" the boy casually jumped over a few collapsed yokai like they were part of the path and moved his way closer to Rikun smiling ignoring Rikun's earlier comment.

"Who are you?" Rikun demanded

"Isn't it more respectful to say your own name before asking for others, Oji-san?"

"I'm Nura Clan Sandaime, Nura Rikun and I'm only **18 years old**. What's yours?" Rikun was clearly unimpressed by the fact that he was called an Oji-san so he emphasized how old he was.

" Nura Rihan?" The boy widened his eyes at Rikun's answer and started inching forward inspecting Rikun. He then later jumped back and shrugged his shoulders, sighing heavily. "Ah, I thought Nura Rihan would have more of a presence and wouldn't be a hot-headed, rash kind of guy that jumps into action without thinking. I'm slightly disappointed, after all, I thought he would be some awesome guys because _she _even acknowledges him." Sighing again.

A nerve inside Rikun's head snapped as he was casually insulted by a boy who looks weak and girly to boot.

"Who do you think you're insulting? " Rikun carefully chose his words because even though his anger long surpassed his limit, the observations the boy said were spot on.

The boy put his finger on his head and thought for a while, occasionally scrunching up his face.

"An idiot?"

"And why do you think I'm Oyaji? I explained to you earlier who I am." Rikun decided to let by what the boy just said.

"Yeah, you said Nura Clan something-daime, Nura Ri-something and some other irrelevent information. So obviously your the Nura Clan Nidaime, Nura Rihan right?"

_This kid just conveniently listened to the bits he wanted to listen to and cuts off the most important part._

"Let repeat it to you again, you disrespectful brat. I'm Nura Clan SANDAIME, Nura RIKUN, **18 YEARS OLD SO I'M NOT A OJI-SAN.**" A huge tic appeared on Rikun's head

"Eh? so you're not Nura Rihan? Jeez am I shocked." The boy said deadpanned, without a hint of shock at all. "I have no business here then."

"You didn't do it on purpose did you?" Rikun asked slowly sheathing out nenekirimaru behind his back. He decided for once and for all to just take this boy backed to the Main House and interrogate him there.

_This boy is getting less and less like Rikuo now that I talk to him but this scent and appearance...and he seems to be interested in Oyaji._

_"_No way, Do you suspect me mister? An innocent kid like me." He answered in a soft coaxing voice, throwing in a puppy dog face which would have rendered anyone, except for Rikun, fawning over his adorableness. This didn't faze Rikun at all because the Rikuo he knew used to always do that but with 100% pure innocence and sincerity so there was no way the facade would work.

"Stop with the-"

Rikun wanted to say 'act' but he wasn't given the time as he had to unsheathe Nenekirimaru earlier than he thought. The boy had charged towards him brandishing his odd sword. Rikun managed to insert his sword between the boy's sword and his chest and he took a good look at the boy's face which was only inches away.

The adorable fluffy image was broken when he noticed the boy smirk as if he knew Rikun was going to try and catch him off guard for a while now.

" Mister, Its not a good idea to attack someone when they're off guard and I'm surprised, you're the second one that's able to resist my charm."

"You took the words right out of my mouth, what do you think your doing attacking me when I'm processing my own thoughts?"

"Tsk Tsk, Trying to attack someone when their off guard compared to stopping someone before they attack you off guard BY attacking them off guard are not essentially the same."

"They sounds pretty similar to me." Rikun said trying to position himself into a stance without being to obvious.

"Mister, which one is cooler? A police who has strategy to catch a thief or a thief who outsmarts the police by using the strategy to his advantage?"

" The thief, Right?"

"Now apply that to this situation, who looks cooler?" The boy said boastfully

Rikun looked at this boy in the eyes and he couldn't even imagine a connection between the two boys.

"Who cares whose cooler, I am taking you back to the Nura Clan for interrogation." Rikun admitted a part of his true motives.

_He has a small build so he probably shouldn't have much physical strength, I'll first push him back and then pin him down._

Rikun was going to carry on with his plan but before he even added any pressure to push back the boy, he had already jumped back. The boy then immediately wheeled back from his initial attempt that failed to hit Rikun. Rikun was within the boys striking range within a few seconds and had to suddenly jerk backwards surprised at the quick attack.

The boy moved so swiftly and so easily as if he were a feather that defied weight and gravity. If Rikun wasn't the one facing this boy and this boy didn't have a possibility of being his little brother then he would have most likely invited him to join his _Hyaki Yako_. He had no wasted movements and used minimal strength to attack. He used his small structure to his advantage to attacked in small quick bursts, and he wielded his sword like if were part of his own body. It was truly artful.

Rikun managed to escape by hair's length from the tip of the blade that definitely would have reached him if he didn't have his youkai reflexes.

"Mister, by any chance were you thinking that you will beat me with physical strength then you would stop me from moving and lastly knock me out?"

Rikun flinched. Bulls-eye.

_Damn. He's reading me like an open book. I wonder if my intentions are written over my face or is he just a psychic? I hope he can't read my mind right now._

_" _He's reading me like an open book. I wonder if my intentions are written over my face or may he be a psychic?" The boy repeated in a mocking voice.

" Ah, you read my mind. Are you sure you're not a psychic?" Rikun said sarcastically while he took this chance to compose himself.

"Yes I am a psychic! Are you surprised?" The boy dramatically said putting on his own little performance.

"No, stop with the lies."

"But I'm not lying, do I look like the type of person that would lie?" The trademark puppy face appeared.

"Not in the past, maybe" Rikun said in a softer tone so the boy couldn't hear him, "But now, you're 101% lying" he alleged.

"I'm not lying."

" Yes you are."

"Okay, I lied."

Once again, the boy wily expression returned.

"Mister, you should hide your intentions a bit better. That way the opponent won't know what you're thinking."

" Thank you for stating the obvious, but since you already can read my thoughts so easily there's no more point hiding the revealed."

"Hahahah, Mister you're a joker." The boy laughed

"Not as much as you." Rikun mockingly laughed back in a similar way.

This time Rikun launched himself at the boy and they clashed swords time after time again. One has power and reflexes and the other has perception and speed.

_How is there so much power behind each of his blows?_

Rikun then swung his sword down at the boy with all the power he has hoping to knock the boy over. However instead of what he thought, the boy's eyes seemed to smile ever so faintly.

"I told you to hide your intentions."

The boy made a little adjustment to the direction he exerted his power when the swords connected, thus, altering the direction where Rikun had aimed. Thanks to all the excess momentum, Rikun stumbled forward, having all his vital parts exposed to the boy.

_I got it! His style does not involve swinging a sword. Using his speed and accuracy he uses his opponents power as his. Tsk, thanks brain for figuring it out now._

" Mister, mister. Figuring out my style and dealing with it are two different things" The boy smiled giving some advice as he changed his grip on the hilt of the sword so it give him more advantages in power.

A nice, smooth swing came down on the back of Rikun's neck.

"Damn it...wait..." Rikun found himself slowly falling towards the ground, losing consciousness and immobilized from the strong blow as reached out towards the boy who was already walking away.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself." The boy slowly turned facing the Rikun whose eyes were getting blurry.

"I'm Rikuo. Just Rikuo. I've come to mark the start of a different reign. So watch out ~" He giggled happily while saying the most absurd things.

It was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

* * *

**-NURA RESIDENCE-**

"wa..ka...na"

whispered a man wearing a green and black striped kimono in deep slumber on the highest branch of the Sakura tree.

This tree was always in bloom no matter what season. The Nura Clan was always surrounded in petals all season which caused rumors among the townspeople about the place being haunted. But rumors were only rumors, no one ever dared to check it out. This tree was said to have first bloomed when Yohime, Rikun's grandma, was born. Even now, whenever any one feels sad and needs some thinking time they would come see this tree. The top branch was always reserved for either Rikun, Rihan or Nurarihyon though. Nurarihyon once said that this tree was Yohime's favourite and that her spirit still resides in the tree watching over the generations of the Nura Clan warmly. That's why it often invokes deep memories...

"OI RIHAN! WAKE UP! " Screamed a voice from the porch.

The man, Rihan, awoke to hearing a loud voice disrupting his dreams. He brushed his hair out of his face and started blinking to shake off his sleepiness while turning towards the source of the voice.

"ughh, what mean guy disturbed-"

Before Rihan could try and blame anyone, a pipe flew through the sky and marvelously smacked him in his face. Being drowsy from just waking up, he lost his balance and fell into the lake below where _Kappa_ was swimming.

Rihan burst out of the water angrily, with his kimono soaked and hair dripping wet.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR OYAJI- AHHHHH KAPPA WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!"

Rihan was going to yell at the person who threw a pipe at him, which happened Nurarihyon standing on the porch sneering at Rihan but he was more concerned of the small yokai boy before him. The small yokai boy was none other than Kappa, a water yokai that resided in the pond next to the Sakura tree. He had a white plate that looked like half a broken egg on his head which seemed to be a hat of some sort. He wore a ninja-like outfit that was green matched with a yellow scarf and also wore_ tabi_ boots. He also has webbings between his fingers. However, today he seems to have two large bumps on his head.

Kappa was carried out of the water by Rihan who was shaking him so he could regain consciousness.

"ahhh...Déjà vu ...like father...like son..." Kappa said in a low voice slightly regaining his consciousness.

"hmmmm...what do you mean?...AH! Don't compare to that senile, old man over there" Rihan pointed rudely at Nurarihyon

Nurarihyon was angry. Not only because his son called him a senile, old man but also because Rihan misunderstood what kappa meant. Nurarihyon was one of the most handsome humanoid yokai's but unlike Rikun and Rihan who have human forms because of they are part human, Nurarihyon had to ultimately take a form of an old man. Since long time ago, he had been walking around in his youkai form with yohime a few centuries ago. If by chance that any one recognised him, god knows how though, then those rumors will stir trouble. That was the last thing he needed.

" Not me and you Rihan! You and Rikun was who Kappa was talking bout."

"Why?" Rihan questioned as the incident with Rikun earlier today didn't ring a bell.

Nurarihyon face-palmed and shook his head as he looked at Rihan.

"Is he just trying to escape embarrassment by faking it or is he just plain stupid?"

A few other small yokais that appeared from out of the bush, who understood the situation joined in the conversation.

"I vote for latter."

"I second that."

"I concur-"

"ANYWAY- Did you need me for something?" Rihan interrupted the small yokai as he couldn't stand the humiliation from his father and the other smaller yokais.

Nurarihyon was reminded about what he woke Rihan up for in the first place. "Weren't you looking for Rikun?"

"Nah, that boy is old enough to come home himself. I'll hide from Otome for the time being." Rihan answered casually having completely forgotton how scary Otome can actually be.

"Well, it's not my problem so I won't interfere but don't forget that I warned you. " Nurarihyon grinned to himself, remembering how meek Rihan changes when facing Otome's wrath. "Back to the point, there's a message from one of our alliances in Kyoto saying that he's got a bad premonition. What do you think?"

Rihan's eyebrows furrowed. "Tell the _Sanbagarasu _to dig for more information."

"The history from 400 years ago might be repeating itself." Nurarihyon muttered to himself softly but Rihan's hearing was abnormal.

"What do you mean?"

Nurarihyon stared at Rihan for a while, deciding whether he should tell him or not. He saw something reflected in Rihan's eyes and decided against it.

"It's too early for you" he said while walking away back into the house.

"Oi-" Rihan was about to pester his father to tell him but there was a familiar scream

"_SHODAISHO_! NIDAIME!"

It was _Karasu Tengu_ flying from the sky, covered in sweat.

"aliugrbjnviepdkfjbeuak!" Karasu Tengu tried to tell Rihan and Nurarihyon the situation but he didn't know what to say first and ended up spouting jibberish.

"Calm down, here have some tea." Nurarihyon handed Karasu Tengu the nearby tea he had prepared for himself.

Karasu Tengu chugged down the tea and began talking that language they can all understand but it was still frantic.

"R-RIKUN-SAMA, I MEAN WAKA HAS..."

* * *

**-IN AN ALLEY, UKIYOE TOWN-**

A small bird yokai emerged from the shadows while approaching a boy eating a rice cracker on a barrel, clutching his sword by his side.

"You're finally here _tengu" _the boy quickly stuffed the rest of the cracker in his mouth. "I need you to help relay a message."

The tengu walked up to the boy with anger burning in his eyes and he suddenly there was an outburst of anger.

"RIKUO-SAMA! HOW COULD YOU JUST LEAVE LIKE THAT! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO LEAVE TOGETHER WITH THE PERSON SHE ASSIGNED YOU WITH!"

"Hahahaha, first in, first serve" The boy, Rikuo, replied happily not affected by the tengu explosion of emotions at all.

"So, what happened today? You even ruined uniform." The tengu looked at Rikuo's uniform and it had a small slit on the arm.

"Ahh, I ran into a someone. He's quite funny! Kept me entertained for a while! But I can't remember his name...Ri-Ri-Ri-something."

"DON'T TELL ME IT WAS NURA RIHAN?!" The tengu's eyes nearly popped out from the shock.

"No, it wasn't him, calm down." Rikuo whacked the tengu in the head with his sword in it's sheathe.

"Ahhh I see...your partner should be coming soon, in a few days."

"Okie-dokie, what's her name again? k-k-k-kyomango?" Rikuo scratched him head trying to remember the name. " Oh well, I'll deal with it some other time." Rikuo answering beaming happily.

"You're quick to thrown in the towel.." The tengu looked at the carefree boy with the I-can't-believe-this-guy face.

Rikuo then jumped off the barrel and proceeded to leave while giving the Tengu a wave.

"RIKUO-SAMA" The tengu beckoned waving his wings desperately before Rikuo left. "Do you remember what's going on tomorrow and where you are going?"

"Hmmm...A celebration party...maybe?"

"I knew I couldn't leave you alone with your memory. The tengu face-palmed shaking his head. " Your were going to enroll in a Middle school."

"...where..?" Rikuo tilted his head to the side cluelessly

"Rikuo-sama...did you listen my explanation two days ago?"

"No." Rikuo announced confidently

"Ahhhh, I'll just repeat it, this happens all the time."

"Dont worry Tengu! I don't know why you're depressed but cheer up!" Rikuo laughed heartily

_There's so many problems I want to comment on but Rikuo-sama is too easy going that it will never end._- Thought the Tengu, on the verge of tears.

"Rikuo-sama, you are to observe this place by blending as a Middle school student and you will carry out your own special mission in your own time. But don't do anything overboard and don't leek too much information." said the Tengu

"So what Middle School am I going to?"

"mmmmm... let's see... tomorrow you are going to... I believe it was Ukiyoe Middle School."

**To be continued...**

* * *

**A/N: **Ahhhhh I think I made it too long -.-

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will hopefully have chapter 3 updated in about a week. Thank you for going along with my selfish wish. Please reviewww :D and please ignore some grammatical errors

1) Sakura : cherry blossoms

2) Shodaime, Nidaime, Sandaime : Supreme Commander, Second Heir and Third Heir

3)Kimono : A long, loose robe with wide sleeves

4)Haori: The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by women, men and children

5)Yokai: Demon

6)Youki: Demonic Aura

7)Jiji: Ruder way of saying Grandpa

8)Oyaji: Ruder way of saying Dad

9)Kaa-san: Mother, mum

10)Waka: Young master

11)Nenekirimaru: A sword that cuts Demons

12)Yuki-Onna: A type of demon, snow-woman

13)Tatami: A traditional Japanese floor covering

14)Kubinashi: Kubinashi is a name for the demon, really is a "nuke-kubi" which appear to be normal humans except for the fact that their necks are detachable.

15) Oji-san: Uncle or "mister" when used between strangers or new acquaintances

16) Tengu: A humanoid bird

17) Ayakashi: Another way of calling "Demon"

18) sayonara: good-bye

19) Katana:A long, single-edged sword

20) Hyaki Yako: Night parade of 100 demons

21) Shodaisho: Supreme commander

22) Kappa: Yokai meaning 'river child' who resides in rivers, lakes and swamps

23) Tabi: Traditional Split toed shoes/socks

24) Sanbagarasu:three tengu yōkai siblings


	3. Chapter 3

**A Promise From the Past**

_**Warnings: **Rihan's not dead, Yamabuki wasn't used as a host, Nurariyhon is still young and Rikuo and his night from are 2 different people, oOc-ness_

**_Disclaimer: _**_I do not own Nurarihyon no mago. But the OC's are mine._

_hope you enjoyyy~ _

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

* * *

The boy woke up in a daze, trying to distinguish between the dreams he just had and the reality yet to come. However, it all turned out pointless because he couldn't remember his dreams at all. It was nostalgic but he had this indescribable feeling, that feeling of dropping a glove in the middle of the road but still moving forward. The boy decided not to try remember and to just face reality, however it was clear to him that he was not a lucid dreamer.

"ughhh." he grumbled rising out of bed, blinking his eyes and shaking his head to try shake off the drowsiness.

The room was small but it felt oddly spacious, it was probably because the lack of furniture or equipment. There was only a small bag in the corner and nothing else, not even a clock.

_It's probably seven to seven thirty _The boy thought, taking a wild guess just by observing the shadows of the trees and the little sunlight that was admitted through the windows. His room wasn't jam-packed with clothes so it wasn't didn't take that much time to dress, especially since it was a school day.

Then there was a knock on the door.

The boy walked towards the door wondering who it was so early in the morning, he just moved here so his acquaintances were relatively close to zero.

"MORNING!" called a booming voice as the boy opened the door.

"How are you going? Did you sleep well? Today's a lovely day as always isn't it? My, my, my all dressed for school? Youth isn't it." She started barraging the boy with questions.

_Who is this lady again? _The boy thought trying to recall his memories from last night. _Ah right, I think she's the landlady but what was her name again?_

She was a bit of an eccentric person. She had her hair tied up in a high pony tail with her lengthy bangs. She wore a blue haori that had characters 'persistence' embedded on the back of it and it was draped over her white t-shirt and stomach warmer. Then she just wore jeans that didn't really match her traditional fashion, nevertheless, she was a person who liked collecting antiques and seemed to have quite a few drinking buddies from what the boy could tell.

"Morning, landlady-san, do you know the time?" The boy answered, for a lack of a better idea to answer all her questions in one word. Answering them all one by one was a hassle.

" Just call me Aoi! yeah it's around 8 o'clock now."

_I was wrong. It's 8 o'clock. I'm going to be late. I guess reading people and reading the time come in two different packages._

_"_Rikuo-kun do you not have a clock? Have one of mine! I've got a grandfather clock, a normal clock, a clock from the shogun's period, a clock-"

"Thank you so much! But a normal clock is fine." Rikuo said politely trying to cover up the fact that he just cut her off because he had a feeling that she would continue for who-knows-how-long if he didn't.

"I see...come to think of it, what's your full name? I need to make a name plate for you."

Rikuo gulped.

Rikuo didn't have a surname, he got by with just Rikuo for these past few years, not that he often gave his name out to anyone. But then again, he remembered that the tengu told him he needed to have one before he starts school today.

Rikuo didn't show his thoughts on his face and acted normally as if nothing wrong was happening but the gears in his brain were at work.

Rikuo tried to think of a few common names: Kurosaki, Takamura, Sakata.

Kurosaki Rikuo?

Nah, sounds too much like a hero.

Takamura Rikuo.

Sounds a bit...

Sakata Rikuo.

mmmmmm...

no.

For some reason, when Rikuo said these names in his head, it just doesn't seem to click or work out. There was something missing in the name but he couldn't put his finger on it. It was like a strawberry shortcake without the strawberry on top.

A risky, name suggestion passed through his mind. It would definitely cause trouble and Rikuo was sure that _they _wouldn't be too pleased but he took the risk.

_Nura Clan._

_Nura._

_Nura Rikuo._

"My name is Nura, Nura Rikuo." Rikuo smiled at Aoi who was surprised at his out-of-no-where smile.

* * *

**Ukiyoe Middle School, Class 2-3**

"Hey, hey did you hear? There's going to be a transfer student from Kyoto!"

"Really? Boy or Girl?"

"A boy."

"Is he cute?"

"Apparently he is! Akane said that she took a glimpse of the photo in the teacher's office!"

"There's no need to get worked up over a transfer student." Maki Saori said twirling her long, blond hair around her finger.

"But I'm a bit interested, just a bit though." Natsumi Torii added sitting on a chair next to her good friend Saori. "But there's one person over there who can't keep their excitement under control." She turned her head to the back of the classroom looking at a boy with his laptop , flicking her dark, green hair in the process.

"How can you be so apathetic Maki-kun, Torii-kun!" Kiyotsugu shouted enthusiastically while slamming his hands on the desk, pushing away his laptop. "Can't you see! It's another chance to recruit another member in the Kiyojuji Paranormal Investigation Squad! Right? Shima-kun, Ienaga-Kun!" He turned his face to Shima on his right who was kicking a soccer ball against the wall and Ienaga who was staring out of the window in a daze.

"Right..." Jiro Shima concentrating on the coordination of the soccer ball.

"Shima-kun! Where did your enthusiasm go!" Kiyotsugu shouted

"ah! Right!" Shima form was disrupted by Kiyotsugu sudden shout and accidentally kicked the ball into the door.

"Kiyotsugu-kun, you've got to stop surprising me like that, what if someone walked in?"

"That's more like it! What about you Ienaga-kun?" Completely disregarding Shima's latter response.

"..."

"Ienaga-kun!"

"Kana! Kiyotsugu-kun's calling you" Torii decided to speak up, waking Ienaga Kana out of her day dreams.

"Ah, sorry, what were you saying?" She turned round to face Kiyotsugu-kun, only to his usual proud expression knocked out of him after being ignored. "Sorry.." pulling a slight smile.

"Don't worry about it Kiyotsugu-kun, Kana always gets upset when there's talk about a transfer student." Maki called over to Kiyotsugu trying to comfort him.

"Really? How come?" Shima questioned, taking his seat next to Kiyotsugu-kun.

"Do you remember Rikuo-kun from elementary school?" Torii continued

"Yeah...he was the cheerful one always going on about Youkai's right? Come to think of it, where did he go?"

"Yeah him, Kana was his closest friend and one day, he just left, not telling Kana anything." Torii voice sounded a bit sad, remembering how hurt Kana was.

"Hmph! she should just forget about that him." Maki commented unable to deal with the sombre atmosphere.

"Saori! don't say that, after all, he was Kana's first..."

"He hasn't come back for 10 years! As if he is just going to suddenly come back no-"

"Alright Everyone! Please take your seats!" The teacher called out, walking in through the door, having the most unbelievable timing. He walked over to the teacher's desk and started roll call. "As you all know, we have a transfer student. He is from Kyoto and he has a few special circumstances, please welcome him in."

All the boys in the class looked a bit bored, yawning, not having much interest in the 'boy' transfer student. Of course, everyone except for Kiyotsugu-kun who had already been inspirited and was looking forward to the transfer student. The girls in the class were all giggling and whispering to each other hoping that he's 'good-looking'. Maki looked slightly annoyed and Torii could only give her a small smile to try cheer her up. Kana sat at the back in the window corner, sighing, fixing some of her brown hair that had fallen in front of her face behind her ear. She paid little attention to the incoming of the transfer student and she didn't seem to notice some boys around her blushing from her cute gesture.

He walked in.

* * *

He stood in front of the whiteboard, facing everyone after writing his name 'Nura Rikuo'.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Nura Rikuo, Please take good care of me!" he announced cheerfully, expressing his cuteness a normal 15 year old boy would not have by widening his already big, brown eyes. He had successfully captured the hearts of the girls and the boy felt an odd 'doki' in their hearts.

_So this is the Middle school I'm attending~ _

"Rikuo-kun, you can sit in that seat in behind Ienaga-san over there." The teacher pointed to Rikuo's seat in the back corner.

Rikuo carefully observed the class while he walked down the aisle to his seat with out raising any suspicious actions. He noticed in the class there were five students who were different.

First there were these two girl in the right hand side of the classroom, sitting next to each other. One had long, blond hair and the other had cat-like eyes and dark, green hair tied up in a ponytail. They were both exchanging dubious looks at one another, then at Rikuo, and this cycle repeated back and forth.

After them were these boys in the back row. The boy closer to the door with short, blond hair had just dropped his soccer ball and his eyes were wide open, he was gaping at Rikuo while shaking the shoulder of the boy next to him. The boy next to him was an enigma. One minute he has sparkles in his eyes with the look of triumph and then the next moment he would have tears in his eyes, looking all surprised. He has mid-length wavy, navy-blue-purple hair which falls messily around his face and he has dark, sharp, brownish eyes.

Finally, the most surprising of all was that girl in the seat in front of him. She was quite pretty; her long, brown hair fell over her shoulders and her large, khaki-coloured eyes matched her very well. Unlike the other who had been either shocked or dumbfounded, Rikuo could feel her relief and he felt inexplicably sentimental when he saw her, it was that same feeling he experienced when he woke up this morning. She stood up from her chair as Rikuo walked closer. She cupped her hands over her mouth and tears started streaming down her cheeks and as Rikuo walked past her he could hear her mutter.

"Rikuo-kun, you've finally come back."

This girl called 'Ienaga' and her ambiguous words remained firmly beyond Rikuo's imagination.

* * *

**-Nura Residence-**

It was in the afternoon at the Nura Clan, and Tsurara was outside doing the laundry. However, unlike every other day, today she couldn't feel at ease. The laundry also ended up messily, pegs here and there, and worst of all, Tsurara unconsciously froze all the clothes while her mind was above the clouds.

Tsurara sighed.

"You know each time you sigh, your happiness escapes." A voice called from behind.

"Oh it's you Kubinashi." Tsurara replied. "I can't seem to calm down after Rikun-sama came back like that yesterday. I'm supposed to be his bodyguard yet..."

"Don't Worry Yuki-Onna, Rikun-sama was just knocked out, whoever knocked him out will be sought immediately." Kubinashi tried to reassure Yuki-Onna for various reasons.

One, was of course that it hurt him to see one of his own allies blame themselves, but the other was the fact that Tsurara was in charge of all the household chores. Kubinashi took one look at the laundry and shuddered. If Tsurara didn't cheer up soon, we would have frozen food three times a day, frozen clothes to wear and our entire household might freeze up when she's cleaning. Of course, Otome-sama did the work with Tsurara but when it comes to Tsurara, Otome-sama tends to be quite lenient and just goes-with-the-flow.

"You're right Kubinashi! I can't let this get me down! I'll go check on Rikun-sama!" Tsurara called out already running towards Rikun's room.

Kubinashi recalled an incident when Tsurara accidentally walked in on Rikun-sama who was changing in the room after being thrown into the pond by Shodaisho. Rihan and Shodaisho who were also in the room at that time couldn't help but tease Tsurara's flushed face which resulted in Tsurara releasing her ice youki when she ran away in embarrassment, ultimately freezing the entire room.

* * *

"Yo! Morning! Well, to be exact, it's actually afternoon."

Zen was right beside Rikun's pillow. Rikun had absolutely no idea why Zen was here and could only look up at him in a dazed, puzzled expression while Zen, on the other hand, was casually drinking tea while looking relieved that Rikun had woken up.

Rikun tried to prop himself up, but then an intense pain from his neck ran through his body. He could only flop back down onto his futon.

"Be careful, you got hit rather hard in the neck."

"Right, thanks." Rikun noticed all his injuries were all bandaged up and taken cared for while he rose from his futon slowly using his hands to prop him up.

"Don't worry, taking care of you is my job." Zen assured Rikun

Zen is a very fragile type of bird yokai whose blood line is physically powers lie in their feathers which transforms into powerful organic poison when soaked in alcohol. However, eventually as they grown up, they grower weaker and weaker as their feathers turn into poison, slowly draining away their life. They specialize in poisons and medicines and are in charge of treating the injured in the Nura Clan.

" So, what happened? Don't tell me you were knocked out by a weakling?" Zen intended it as a joke.

Rikun head was in circles, thinking properly was a pain. But as his consciousness returned and once slowly taking into account what happened his face twisted into a dubious grimace.

"Oi! What's wrong ? Does it hurt that much?" Zen was worried, having never seen Rikun with this kind of expression before.

"D-don't worry, rather than my injuries, I think my pride suffered a lot more."

Zen thought about it for a while, not wholly comprehending Rikun. Then by accessing the talk they had just then, he came to a conclusion.

"Don't tell me, I was...right? You really got beaten...by a weakling?"

Rikun flinched. "not quite, it's a long story." Sweat dropping. Then he immediately stood up, pushing all the pain aside.

"Wait! Where are you-" Zen attempted to stop the irritated Rikun but someone beat him to it, using the worst method possible. Who else could it be to fly kick Rikun the second he slid opened the door, knocking him back down but his grandpa, Nurarihyon.

"Sick people, should stay in bed." Nurarihyon walked in casually smoking a pipe and seating himself next to the futon Rikun was in.

"Shodaisho..."

"Zen, the next time he gets up, show him your fist of love." Nurarihyon winked at him, sugar-coating his words which were fully implying:

" Punch him with all your might if he tries to get up."

"To a patient that's a bit..."

"Don't worry, this boy's tough, a few hits here and there won't hurt him!"

A suddenly heel was right above Nurarihyon's head but he effectively, not to mention easily, avoided that heel that smashed down and hit the floor hard from the excessive momentum.

"Owwwwww!" Rikun grabbed his foot in pain. " Don't avoid it Jiji!"

"See, I told you Zen. He's a feisty one."

"Don't ignore me!" Rikun flung his hands up.

Zen burst out laughing from this childish dispute, it reminded him of something from years back. After all, this was what the Nura Clan was supposed to be like. Lively and always helping each other out in need although there were a few fools from time to time that would try disrupt this peace.

Zen got up and proceeded to let himself out to give Rikun and his grandpa some time to discuss things.

"Zen are you going?"

"Yeah, it's getting late. Fill me in on the details some other time."

On the way out, Zen met Tsurara who was on her way in.

Zen always thought Tsurara was really clumsy, she'd often accidentally pour tea on Rikun, his sworn brother, and then would try make it better by cooling him down however, it didn't turn out well. Tsurara was strong, but her control was not the best. Rikun's probably been frozen by Tsurara so many times, unintentionally, that his body is immune to cold. This was different from Rihan though, he's built up an immune to it because he's been frozen many times by Tsurara's mother, Setsura because he often teased her like Nurarihyon did.

"Hello Zen-sama." She bowed politely. " Um...how is Rikun-sama?"

"He's as healthy as ever." Zen chuckled, pointing his thumb at the room, telling Yuki-Onna to listen to the energetic noises coming from the room.

"That's great." Tsurara sighed in relief as a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

"Aren't you going in?"

"No, Nurarihyon-sama must have gone inside to chat privately, I shall hear about it another time."

"Then could you tell Hebidaiyu that we are leaving? And please prepare the Oboro-Garuma."

The Oboro-Garuma is a Yokai who lives in the Nura has a face protruding from one end and is used as transportation by members of the Nura family and allied clans because normal Humans can not see it, only experiencing gusts of wind.

"My pleasure!"

* * *

**-Ukiyoe Middle school, Lunch break-**

Ding-Dong!

It was finally lunch break and Ienaga Kana was immediately turned around to face the boy behind her without packing away her books.

"Rikuo-kun!" Kana looked at the boy sincerely.

"Yeah?"

"Um..er...what...I...mean...is..."

_What should I ask first? Should I ask why he left for Kyoto 10 years ago? Or should I start with a general greeting first? But we already know each other. _Kana thought while still in the middle of her sentence, there were so many things she wanted to say but none came out as words._ Could it be that he hasn't recognized me? Have I changed that much?_ Kana checked herself in her red mirror she took from her bag. _I don't think I've changed that much though... _examining her fringes. _AHHH, why am I blushing? My face is so red! _Kana took a look at Rikuo hoping that he didn't think that she changed into a weird person after 10 years but to Kana's surprise he was chuckling, causing Kana to blush even further at the sight.

_This girl called me 'Rikuo-kun' twice already, we've only meet for a few hours though. Does she not like using honorifics? She doesn't like that type of person though. _Rikuo examined the girl in front of him. She looked as if she was going to say something but then she quickly stopped and started on something else. Rikuo suddenly found himself amused by the girl's multiple expressions in a few seconds that he unconsciously started laughing. _Why am I laughing? _Rikuo shook his head and decided to speak up and say something because he was actually very hungry.

"Hello, you're a very interesting person, may I ask who-" Rikuo had his smiling facade on again but was interrupted before his question because a bunch of other students came up to his desk and asking their own questions. It somehow reminded him of a situation from this morning.

"Nura-Kun, how come you don't have an Kyoto accent?"

" Hey Nura, Do you play soccer?"

"Nura-kun, Nura-kun, can I call you Rikuo-chan?"

"Wow, Nura-chan your hair is so silky!"

"Nura, are you relatives with the Nura Family up near those forests?"

"Geez, everyone needs to give the boy some space." Maki said while walking towards the big crowd

"It's not everyday we see a boy like him, we also need to ask some questions too." Torii said noticing Kana who was getting knocked out of her own seat because of the number of people._ I feel sorry for Kana, she's the one who wants to say the most too. If only we had a loud, forceful person on our side- _Torii glanced behind her realising that there was such a person in this classroom. Yep, it was Kiyotsugu-kun who had just about reached his limit.

"EVERYONE, GIVE IENAGA-KUN SOME SPACE!"

All the students were suddenly startled by Kiyotsugu-kun sudden outburst and they all started backing away, surrounding Rikuo and Kana in a semicircle.

"Wow~ Kiyotsugu-kun can do some good things from time to time." Maki said, impressed at Kiyotsugu

"Now, Ienaga-kun go on."

Kana was blushing from all the sudden attention, hoping that she could have said it in secret. She wanted to say: "Rikuo-kun, why did you leave without telling me?" but that was pretty private information that she didn't want much people to hear. However, she didn't want to give this chance Kiyotsugu created for her, so she mustered up the courage.

"Um, Rikuo-kun...why...why" Kana was obviously embarrassed she started fiddling with her fingers and it was enough to break Kiyotsugu's patience.

"Geez, Ienaga-kun, saying it shouldn't take that long! I'll show you how to do it!" Kiyotsugu barged in the semi-circle.

"Soari,I don't think Kiyotsugu and Kana are on the same wavelength" Torii said while her sweatdropped.

"Nura-Kun!" Kiyotsugu slammed his palm on Rikuo's desk, surprising everyone for the millionth time.

"Wait Kiyotsugu-kun, this is private, I think I should say it myself-"

"WHY DON'T YOU JOIN OUR KIYOJUJI PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION SQUAD?"

Both Maki, Kana and the rest of the class were shocked that their eyes could have popped out. They ALL misunderstood something. Maki thought Kiyotsugu was being heroic, asking for Kana's sake. Kana thought Kiyotsugu was out of patentience and decided to ask in her place. The class thought it was a romantic comedy where Kana couldn't confess her 'Love at first sight' feelings so they thought, Kiyotsugu, who might have been in love with her, would confess in her place. Shima was lost from the very beginning and Torii found out halfway and could only face palm and shake her head.

_We shouldn't underestimate Kiyotsugu-kun. _Torii thought to herself as Kiyotsugu's never ceases to surprise everyone.

Rikuo was just dumbfounded by these series of events. But he got Kiyotsugu's question at the very least, it was practically coercion in the form of a question. Rikuo wondered if Kiyotsugu ever tried being an interrogation inspector, cause Rikuo thinks that he has a knack for that job. Nevertheless, Rikuo wanted to say 'no' because he felt that the something squad had trouble written all over it but Kiyotsugu definitely wouldn't let it fly by.

"Ah, sure! Seems like fun!" Rikuo answered smiling, not breaking his poker face.

"Nura-kun! We have a meeting after school in the classroom! See you then!"

Rikuo was right, Kiyotsugu had that line in his mind whether or not Rikuo answered 'yes' or 'no' . Rikuo was realistically give two choices but ultimately, both choices lead to the same destination. The rest of the class recovered from the odd turn of events and looked at Rikuo with pity for being dragged into Kiyotsugu's schemes. Rikuo didn't know how much 'trouble' Kiyotsugu was, but guessing from the reaction of the class, it was pretty bad.

Ding-Dong!

It was the end of lunch and everyone returned to their seats each thinking something different.

_I shouldn't have expected much out of Kiyotsugu-kun! _

_I knew that Kiyotsugu and Kana weren't thinking of the same thing._

_Yes! Now its time for the Kiyojuji Paranormal Investigation squad to shine!_

_What's going on? Someone please explain!_

Kana was half-relieved, Half-stupified but look one last look at Rikuo's face and smiled.

_Oh well, at least I can talk to him during squad activities. _

Rikuo slumped back in his chair, using this chance to break his poker face to wish for more peaceful days, especially since today was so far-fetched.

_I'm So Hungryyy!_

* * *

**- Nura Residence-**

"Give Rikuo, My regards and tell him to stay put." Zen waved to Tsurara and Kubinashi as he stepped onto the Oboro-Garuma, his attendant Hebidaiyu, Already waiting for Zen.

Hebidaiyu was Zen's attendant that also served his father. He was a snaked-faced yokai and has long black lips and small yellow eyes in compared with his big head. He wore a long, yellow kimono curled over his feet while he had a purple haori draped over his shoulders.

Just before they left, Kubinashi who had been oddly silent the entire time spoke up.

"Um... Zen-sama, Please be careful."

"Don't worry Kubinashi!" Zen replied, taking off.

"Kubinashi, what's wrong? You have a scary look on your face." Tsurara asked

"No, it just that his attendant is fishy. I often see him wandering around Nurarihyon-sama and Rihan's rooms and sometimes I feel a hostile youki from him."

"That's terrible! Have you told Zen-sama?"

"Of course I have warned him, but he said he could take care of himself. I hope nothing happens." Both youkai started walking back inside the main residence hope that the bad premonition they felt in their gut was nothing serious.

"Yuki-Onna! Kubinashi!" Two loud, familiar voices shouted out their names.

It was Aotabo and Kurotabo, the two assault officers of the Nura Clan. Kurotabo was yokai who was born from the beliefs of children on the legend that created. He has navy-blue hair and dark-blue eyes and is often seen wearing a straw hat, black monk robes and a creamy-white scarf. He is called the "assassin and destruction monk" for his appearance and his powers to hid millions of weapons in his sleeves. Aotabo is one of the physically strongest, if not number one, in the Nura Family. He uses his fist to fight and as such is quite tanned and muscular. He has white hair and yellow-scarf like shawl over his shoulders and a skull rosary that keeps his strength under control.

They were both sent to investigate the truth behind the incident involving Rikun and other allied youkais. They were currently running up towards Tsurara and Kubinashi very urgently.

"Where is Zen-sama!" They shouted together in harmony

"He just left. What happened calm down."

"We have to quickly inform Rikun-sama!" Aotabo dashing inside leaving behind Tsurara and Kubinashi who had no idea what he was on about.

"While we were asking around Bakeneko-ya," Kurotabo started explaining after seeing their baffled expressions.

"What was Bakeneko-ya again?" Tsurara questioned

"The eatery for youkai's, run by Bakeneko and his clan. Anyway, what I was saying is that we over heard some youkai's from the Zen clan saying that today they were going to overthrow Zen-sama."

"Who's doing it!" Kubinashi demanded probably already quite aware of who the assailant was.

"Hebidaiyu."

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

**A/N:** hahahah did you enjoy it? please ignore some grammatical mistakes and all, includes spelling and yeah.

I cant be sure when I will post the next chapter so please be patient if its a long wait

Pleassee Revieww :D


	4. Chapter 4

**A Promise From the Past**

_**Warnings: **Rihan's not dead, Yamabuki wasn't used as a host, Nurariyhon is still young and Rikuo and his night from are 2 different people, oOc-ness_

**_Disclaimer: _**_I do not own Nurarihyon no mago. But the OC's are mine._

Hellooo :D I hope you like it so far and all but i still have no idea whether i should have a pairing or not -.- I shall think about that matter a bit more. Yeah, I decided to change the whole 'chain' thing cause it occurred to me that it was a bit dodgy? obvious? something like that. It will be changed into some other object that would work so the purpose originally planned out will not be lost. So yeah sorry, another whimsical decision of mine Ive changed it from the other chapters and all so i hope you will continue reading and review

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

* * *

_-Flashback-_

_"Rikuo-sama! Rikun-sama! Zen-Sama is here!" Karasu tengu called over to the two boys who were playing in the backyard. He was followed by a 7 year old boy who had khaki, scruffy hair that turned black at his neck. He has deep red eyes with small pupils and he wore a purple kimono and a dark blue haori with red lining along the edges._

_Today was the day of the monthly Nura Clan General Meeting where individual generals of each Clan would come and discuss. Zen was the young heir of the Yakushi Clan lead by his father who would always bring him along to the Nura Household whenever there was a meeting._

_Karasu-Tengu bowed after leading Zen to the backyard and was on his way back to the General Meeting, but before he left he made eye contact with Kappa, who was floating on the water in the pond and Kejoro who was combing her wavy, brown hair sitting on the porch. Without words, both loyal allies of the Nura Clan, Kappa and Kejoro understood that Karasu-Tengu was telling them: "Don't let the young masters out of your sight."_

_Zen approached the two boys who seemed to be having a break after sparring with each other. The younger boy with brown hair on the grass was Rikuo. He had a small lump on his head, rubbing it to ease the pain while tears were forming in the corner of his eyes. The older boy, Rikun, was laughing while pointing his finger at Rikuo who was pouting. They both noticed Zen and immediately ran over to him._

_"Yo! Zen did you graduate from being a cute little bird?" Rikun teased while dealing a little light punch to Zen's shoulder._

_Zen was the young heir of the Yakushi Clan and he is a type of bird Yokai. It was said that Zen was born in a form of a beautiful bird that rivalled Yakushi-sama when he was younger. Zen could muster the strength to transform into his human form at such a young age but when he met Rikun a few years back, he was still in the form of a bird. _

_"Hey, hey drop that already." Zen said also giving Rikun a light punch on the shoulder."I see your still teasing Rikuo." looking at the big lump on Rikuo's head._

_"Hahahaha we were just sparring a little but Rikuo has no physical strength! So when he tried to fend off my attack by putting his bamboo sword above his head, he got hit with both his own sword and mine." Rikun laughed _

_Rikuo who was on the side started to pout, puffing up his cheeks. " Rikuo's only four! I'll be stronger than you when I'm seven! " Rikuo's anger could not be taken seriously with his cuteness as he only received giggles from both Zen and Rikun and also Kappa who was grinning and Kejoro was 'Awww'-ing to herself from Rikuo's cuteness. _

_"It's hard to believe that Rikun used to hate Rikuo." Zen said to himself, amused at the childish dispute the brothers were having. He remembered a few years back when Rikuo was only two and Rikun and himself were five. Rikuo often followed Rikun wanting to be friends, but Rikun always ran away or pulled pranks to make him cry. Zen would always fly around the house trying to find both boys._

_Suddenly, while Zen was reminiscing about the past, he started coughing harshly into his hands receiving looks of concern from both Rikuo and even Rikun._

_"Zen-nii are you okay? Are you sick? Do you want a band-aid." Rikuo asked sweetly not making much sense, but he was four so it's understandable._

_"Idiot~ who uses a band aid when their sick, Zen just fragile." Rikun flicked Rikuo on the forehead causing the little boy to stumble backwards slightly. " But Zen, how many times do I have to tell you not to push yourself?" _

_"Coming here once a month won't affect my health that badly" Zen replied forcing a small smile.._

_"Fragile? Is that yummy?" Rikuo was puzzled at the big vocabulary that Rikun and Zen._

_"No Rikuo, fragile means easily broken or delicate." Rikun corrected his little brother_

_"No! I don't want Zen-nii to break!" Rikuo announced quickly grabbing Zen's hand raised his head close to Zen's face while Rikun could only face palm. " I'll become the Sandaime and protect Zen-nii!"_

_When everyone heard this they were all shocked at the little boys announcement. Kappa nearly drowned in the water, forgetting that he could swim and Kejoro, who was usually very careful with her hair, accidentally pulled hard creating frizzes and knots. _

_"No way! You're too weak! I'm going become Sandaime!" Rikun shouted_

_"Rikuo is fast at running and is stronger than you in shoji!"_

_Rikuo only had 1/4 yokai blood within him but he could run surprisingly fast for a four year old. It might have been an innate ability or the training from chasing Rikun when he was a toddler, gave him more action than a normal 2 year old would have experienced. However, when Rikuo played shoji, he could read the opponents expressions well, especially Rikun who was so straight forward with his emotions and thoughts._

_"How does Shoji have anything to do with this!" _

_"You never know Rikun " Zen smirked "Rikuo might turn out to be quite strong." _

_Rikun shot Zen a mean glare as he thought Zen would take his side. "this shrimp? no way" he grumbled under his breath. "Rikuo, let's make a deal. When you are thirteen, we will battle for the title of Sandaime. Winner takes all." _

_Rikuo thought for a moment after all, this was all pretty complex to him._

_"Ehhh, but I don't like the word 'deal', it doesn't sound nice Rikun-nii."_

_"Fine, how about bargain?"_

_"Sake." _

_Rikuo hated sake so it probably meant awful in his terms_

_"umm...understanding?" _

_"almost there."_

_"How about promise?"_

_Rikun was quite confidence that Rikuo would like this._

_"Lollipop!"_

_Bingo. _

_Rikuo loved lollipops to the point the Rikun wanted to take it away from him just to tease his little brother. However, both boys were grinning happily, completely forgetting about Zen's health that started all of this but this was better for Zen because he didn't want them to always be burdened with his bad health. Zen realised something when he saw Rikuo and Rikun laughing together side by side. _

_"Hey Rikuo, your smile is so cute, wouldn't you better off as a girl?" Zen honestly remarked with no intention of teasing Rikuo what-so-ever but it really hit Rikuo hard because he has always been saying how he wants to be like Nurarihyon, cool and handsome but his looks and personality proved otherwise. He has only every been called 'cute' or 'adorable'._

_Everyone laughed loudly at Zen's bluntness and the loudest was obviously Rikun. Rikuo flushed bright red and stumbled backwards throwing his arms in the arm, keen on proving his point._

_"R-R-RIKUO IS A BOY!"_

* * *

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**

* * *

Zen was on the Oboro-garuma with his attendant Hebidaiyu, on the way back to his premises. Zen was reminiscing about the past, sadness clear in his eyes but then suddenly his face twisted in pain as he coughed harshly into his hands.

"Are you okay, Zen-sama?" Hebidaiyu asked "Geez, the Nura clan's successor is such a fool getting attacked...and he still refuses to succeed his clan...even when you over strained yourself."

"Thank you, Hebidaiyu. But we owe a debt to the Nura Clan for accepting weak yokai's such as us, so treating their injuries whenever we can is the least we could do."

"Zen-sama, so you have no intention of leaving the Nura Clan?"

" No, I shall continue following them till the end and I understand Rikun's refusal because of his prideful personality, he is bound by his promise to Rikuo. I too promised to watch over them."

"Rikuo?" The name rang a bell in Hebidaiyu's mind." Oh the small, human brat. Tsk the Nura Clan has fallen far, letting a small brat hinder them for 10 whole years." Hebidaiyu mumbled under his breath cynically.

"Did you say something?" Zen turned towards Hebidaiyu, wondering if he heard wrong. "Anyway, I respect Rikun for keeping his word, the shodaime is getting quite old now, the nidaime suffered too much psychologically, so if this drags on any longer the Nura Clan will might...collapse."

Hebidaiyu's eyes flashed yellow as he hissed "you too!"

Zen eye's widened in shock.

* * *

**Ukiyoe Middle School, Class 2-3**

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

The bell rung to signal the end of the school day at Ukiyoe Middle school. Everyone started to pack their bags while chatting and meeting with friends from other classes. Rikuo was at his seat, staring outside with his chin rested on his hands and watching the mobs of students leaving the school. Rikuo had already joined a club, whether he liked it or not, and his club activities commenced after school which destroyed his plans of buying some snacks on the way back.

The club he joined was called the Kiyojuji Paranormal Investigation Squad. Setting aside the naming sense of the person who created it, he was grateful that the name was simple to understand. Rikuo instantly figured out it was a group that investigated the paranormal, in which case would be yokai. Rikuo wasn't particularly worried that his new acquaintances would figure out that he is 1/4 yokai because he was quite confident in his masking abilities. However, it may not just be a coincidence that all the people in his club...squad were the ones that caught his attention today in class.

Everyone had finally left and the rest of the people in the class were non other than Ienaga Kana, Maki Saori, Torii Natsumi, Shima Jiro and Kiyojuji Kiyotsugu.

"Now we can finally start the wonderful KIYOJUJI PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION SQUAD!" Kiyotsugu boomed in his loud voice as if everyone were metres away from him not a hand away from each other.

"Kiyotsugu-kun! tone down the volume! My ears are ringing!" Torii complained rubbing her ears.

"Anyway, here's my report on the top yokai rendezvous-" Kiyotsugu said lowering his volume but not lacking in enthusiasm.

"Wait. ." Maki interrupting which caused Kiyotsugu to glare at her annoyingly but she immediately shot back a fiercer glare which made Kiyotsugu flinch and shut up.

Maki turned to face Rikuo, who was sitting quietly, and Kana, who was still looking at her fringes in her small,red handheld mirror.

"I believe you that both of you have something to say."

Both of them jerked at the sudden change of atmosphere and looked at each other.

_Saori-chan! I thought I told you that I rather do this in private!_ Kana thought to herself still fidgeting with her handheld mirror in her grasp.

_Wow, this girl knew I had something to say? Hahahaha I'm impressed. _Rikuo smiled looking at Kana and the rest of the group.

"Um.." Both of them simultaneously started at the same time

"Sorry, Rikuo-kun please go first" Kana insisted, hoping to stall sometime to prepare her question or maybe Rikuo would explain it all without Kana having to ask.

"Thank you" Rikuo smiled gently before continuing

Everyone was wondering the same thing. Where did Rikuo go? Why did he go? Why hasn't he said anything? Even Kiyotsugu, whose mind revolved around yokai was interested in Rikuo's answer.

A moments pause.

"Do you think you could all introduce your self? I still don't know who you guys are."

"wah.." Every looked at Rikuo incredulously, gaping at Rikuo.

Kana dropped her mirror, it smashed against the floor causing the glass shards to scatter about. Her expression was no different from everyone else, but there was much more pain and sadness in her eyes. Her lips started trembling, as well as her hands.

Maki stepped up and grabbed Rikuo by the collar, barraging him with questions.

"Nura! What do you mean who we are! You should Know! You're the one who selfishly left Ukiyoe Town for 10 years and you come back feigning ignorance!"

"Soari! Calm down!" Torii grabbed her best friend on the arm trying to stop her outburst.

"I sorry, but I think you got the wrong person. I haven't been to Ukiyoe Town before in my life, I've been in Kyoto the entire time." Rikuo answered, not greatly affected by Maki's burst of anger. His mind was failing to comprehend things though.

_What is this girl talking about? No only her, all their reactions are ...it's as if they know me. Tsk, that's why this place irritates me._

"Sorry, Nura-kun." called a shaky voice from behind him.

"We mistook you for the wrong person. I'm Ienaga Kana, nice to meet you." Kana introduced herself, forcing a small smile on her face as she immediately lowered her gaze, hiding her expression with her fringe as she was unable to keep up a tough front. Her clenching fist also proved it.

"Kiyotsugu-kun, I'm a little tired today so I'm going to go home first." Kana ran out of the classroom with tears that streaming down her face.

"Kana!" Maki and Torii screamed after their friend and chased after her.

"Today's meeting disbanded." Kiyotsugu declared as continuing a meeting in this atmosphere wouldn't produce results.

"Nura-kun, are you really not Nura-kun?" Kiyotsugu looked at the boy's deep, chocolate eyes, leaving his words to linger in the silence and he proceeded out, following Shima.

Rikuo was alone in the room, bearing the heavy atmosphere and was picking up the shards of glass and the mirror, to prevent further fuss tomorrow, and placed them carefully in his school bag. He was on his way out but he took one last look at the classroom with the afternoon rays shining in while sliding shut the door. Before the door completely closed, Rikuo's facade crumbled slightly as he bit his lower lip, showing emotion during the hours when he wasn't supposed to.

* * *

**-Nura Residence-**

"...so that's what happened." Nurarihyon slumped against the wall, putting his pipe between his mouth. "We have no choice but to find him and get the answers out of him before something bad happens." his relieved expression suddenly tensed up.

"Something bad?" Rikun was surprised at his grandfathers choice of words, usually this carefree man never took anything as 'bad' because he believes that we'll pull through somehow.

"The yokai in Kyoto are starting to mov-." Nurarihyon frowned as he let some information slip out of his mouth.

"You still don't have any intention of Succeeding yet?" Nurarihyon weaseled out by changing the subject before Rikun could press on any further.

"No. I've already waited 10 years to fulfill our promise without relenting to the protests of some clan heads and I don't plan to stop now. Especially when he has finally come back." Rikun said with a flame of determination igniting in his crimson eyes.

"I'm sure you said he's lost his memory and is probably not our ally." Nurarihyon replied back testing his grandson conviction, wondering if he could shake it.

"So? I'll just have to beat some sense into him and then carry it out." Rikun smirked gleefully,eyes didn't waver, nor was there any hesitation.

"Hahahahah" Nurarihyon chuckled as he childishly pounded his feat against the tatami satisfied with his grandson's answer. _Rihan, your son grew up well despite the cruel childhood he encountered. _Nurarihyon smiled warmly at Rikun who was crossing his legs, breaking eye contact with Nurarihyon, slightly blushing.

"WAKA!" Aotabo slid open the door with his immense strength that not only broke the atmosphere but also the door.

"Aotabo, that's the 5th door you've broke this week." Rikun stared at the sight of the poor door but was more intrigued at what made Aotabo so flustered so he didn;t go into it any further.

"Zen-sama is in trouble!"

"What! We have got to help him! Quickly!" Rikun shouted.

"You know what you're saying and what you're doing aren't synchronizing with each other." Nurarihyon watched as Rikun SLOWLY struggled to get himself up and about.

"Shut up Jiji!"

Nurarihyon shook his head as he understood Rikun's determination meet no bounds.

"Karasu-Tengu!" Nurarihyon beckoned and a small, black blur almost instantly emerging from above, kneeling in front of Nurarihyon-sama.

_Wow is he a ninja? -_Aotabo thought as he was taken by surprise at the black blur appearing from the ceiling without a sound.

Rikun knew that Karasu tengu was probably eavesdropping on their conversation but Nurarihyon didn't seem to mind because he has always been overprotective of the family so if his grandpa didn't mind then he had no problem with it either.

"Accompany his idiot grandson of mine and make sure he doesn't go over board."

"Hai, Shodaisho." Karasu-tengu nodded but Rikun was already ready to leave.

"Come on Karasu-tengu, you're too slow."

_Wait for me Zen._

* * *

Rikuo was on his way home munching some piping hot Koufuku Manju ( A manju is a bun with a bean paste filling. Koufuku is the style of Manju) and almost as if it were normal, he flung a small rock at the light pole behind him.

"Ack!"

A small, black fell from nowhere and landing on the concrete floor. He rubbed the top of the head where the rock had hit and looked up only to see a pair of disconcerting chocolate-coloured eyes and a delicious smell wafting into his nose.

"Tengu, you were following me again."

"R-R-RIKUO-SAMA!" The tengu stutter back in surprise when he thought he completely masked his presence and his 'stalking' would be successful this time round.

_As expected of Rikuo-sama, his sixth sense is marvelous even though he'd 3/4 human._

"It is my duty to supervise you." The tengu coughed into his hands and flew up so he was eye level with Rikuo and he unconsciously started drooling from the smell in his nose that perked his taste buds.

"So how was your first day of school?" the tengu asked because he couldn't see Rikuo from within the school building, the risks were too high so he tried to watch from a far.

"..."

"Tengu, take a break sometimes. I'm not going to cause havoc or get attacked anytime soon." Rikuo coolly replied ignoring Tengu's question because it was a topic his didn't want to go into further detail.

_This behavior is very odd. Rikuo-sama is very blunt on the things he doesn't like when he doesn't have his facade on. I shall investigate this..._

Rikuo turned back to the direction he was originally walking in and threw the last piece of his manju behind him. Tengu noticed the piece of food coming even though he was in deep thought and his head, as if on instinct, moved towards the food and his mouth opened up for it to be eaten. A delicious sensation spread through his mouth.

"Tzanks wou vbery mwauch Rybou-sama!" The Tengu tried to talk between his teeth while tears streamed down his cheeks like water falls.

"Mmmm? Don't worry about it, I just wasn't very hungry." Rikuo waved his hand at the tengu who had sparkles in his eyes as he hurled himself at Rikuo from happiness.

_I was actually pretty hungry but seeing Tengu drooling sort of put me off...not really actually...he drools pretty often but his imploring eyes and expression were shouting: PLEASE GIVE ME THE FOOD! But my biggest question was, why he was crying? was he really that happy over a small piece of manju?_-Rikuo thought while scratching his temple with his finger, oblivious to the Tengu's loyalty to him.

On the back to Rikuo's apartment, the Tengu provided plenty of entertainment. Talking about one thing and suddenly moving on to another, some might be lectures on Rikuo's bad habits or others might be his stories of admiration for Rikuo.

* * *

They had finally arrived at Rikuo's apartment. It was small and more on the run-down sort of side but it was cheap, manageable and the streets were quiet. It was located in a desolate place, Tengu might not have realised but the number of turns the two of them took to reach this place was unbelievable. No one would choose to live here, unless they were eccentric like Aozaki Aoi, the landlady,economical people who have no choice but to live here to provide themselves with food and shelter because the rent here was dangerously cheap or passive students who don't like the idea of role playing Mr. Nice Neighbour. The reason Rikuo lived here was the last reason and he was quite satisfied but clearly, the Tengu was not impressed at the living situations that boy lived in.

"Rikuo-sama-" The tengu was cut off, no, he was disturbed by the sudden fleeting of a swarm of crows squawking.

It came from the forest of bamboo from behind the apartment.

_That place is relatively dim, no human would dare enter it and there are scarcely any humans around here anyway. So if it can't be humans that made the crows fly, and seriously thinking that crows won't suddenly fly off in those numbers, then it must be..._

_yokai._

Rikuo deduced and started running towards the forest.

"Tengu! If you don't come quick, I'll leave you behind!" The tengu suddenly realised that the child his was supposed to be supervising was not there.

"Ah Rikuo-sama! WAIT FOR ME!" Tengu cried out, immediately chasing after his whimsical boss.

* * *

"...I get it now" Zen sat up from his sudden crash landing, brushing the dirt and twigs off his kimono. "Maybe listening to Kubinashi once in a while wouldn't hurt, he warned me about you and I shouldn't have doubted him." he smirked " Do you plan to take over as the Hebidaiyu Clan in the Anti-Rikun faction and overthrow the Nura Clan? Trust me, you won't even be able to climb halfway to their feat." Zen purposely provoked Hebidaiyu but not twisting the truth.

Hebidaiyu growled and he twitched angrily "If only you weren't so weak, we would have still followed you. I even gave you a chance but you threw it away like a true idiot. But at least you have some skill, evading my first attack causing Oboro-garuma to crash land. You should thank the god of luck. Too bad you won't be here when I achieve higher than the Nura Clan has ever achieved. Good bye, Zen-sama"

Zen was unsettled at the glare Hebidaiyu was giving him. It was 100% murderous desire. He cast away any shred or pity, not that Zen wanted any from this unpleasant bastard. Hebidaiyu was keen on ending Zen's life right here and now. But Zen had no intention of dying here.

Hebidaiyu's neck extended, baring his long fangs at Zen, planning to bite the head off the bird yokai.

_As if I can die in a place like this!_ Zen growled, quite aware of his perilous situation. He had been anticipating Hebidaiyu's attack and so it was obvious to Zen that Hebidaiyu would attack. So it was rather simple to dodge however, Hebidaiyu's previous attack has nicked Zen's right arm which was draining Zen's energy. He evaded to his right, but it strained his injury causing an intense pain to shoot through him and unfortunately disrupted his balance and he tumbled backwards._  
_

Naturally, Hebidaiyu didn't miss such an prime opportunity and his changed his trajectory of his attack and went straight for Zen's head. Not good. Zen couldn't not dodge from his position. Technically, if he pulled off a ninja-roll he could save his life for just this one attack. Of course meaning that the next attack would be 100% sure to get him. Because, by just barely dodging this next attack he would definitely lose his balance, which would leave not only his head, but all his other vitals open to Hebidaiyu. As much as Zen didn't want to admit it, Hebidaiyu could change the trajectory of his attack faster than Zen could pull himself together.

Hebidaiyu's fangs were coming straight at Zen, ready to take a chomp out of his neck. "IT'S OVER ZEN!" He yelled, already dropping the honorifics.

Zen frowned angrily,gritting his teeth and his complexion was getting even paler. It wasn't for a stupid reason that he was scared of Hebidaiyu but the injury on his right arm has not yet been treated so the blood was still flowing out. _Damn it! If only I was a bit stronger! No, I can't die here! I have yet to see Rikun climb to the top! My life is going to be short lived anyway, so why not dedicate it to the person I admire most? _Zen eyes were burning with determination, not losing any hope, and still refusing to accept defeat, which also meant death. _Rikun..._

* * *

_Flashback:_

_"Hey, Rikun" Zen looked in to the boy's crimson eyes after he had finally stopped laughing. "Why did you make such a promise with Rikuo? It didn't seem like a decision you thought of just then."_

_"I guess I can't get anything past you Zen." Rikun closed his eyes and sighed, settling himself next to Zen on the porch._

_"Yeah, I've been thinking about it for a while and I decided not too long ago,after my little spar with Rikuo, that I would make that promise when I have a chance."_

_"Why though? You should know that almost every clan group favours you to succeed. They won't accept Rikuo because he's 3/4 human, so why?" Zen inquired._

_"It's **because **he is 3/4 human." _

_"what?" Zen confusedly answered not understanding Rikun's reason to 'why'._

_"Rikuo undeniably carries 1/4 of jiji's blood in his veins, which makes his a legitimate successor for the title of Sandaime. So why does he have to be cast aside because his human blood is superior?" there was a hint of irritation in Rikun's voice that Zen could hear._

_"Well isn't that because we are stronger than humans? The main argument against Rikuo is that he will weaken the Clan." Zen said frankly._

_"To be honest, I think his human side would actually make him stronger."_

_"Why is that?" _

_"Yokai's are the shadow, humans are the light. Without the light, shadow cease to exist and the same vice-versa. Today, I just realised that Rikuo has started ti incorporate his yokai and human strengths in his fighting. If he continues aiming higher he can become strong."_

_"Jeez, you win." Zen patted Rikun on the back. " To think you would consider others. I'm proud" Zen said motherly._

_"Are you mocking me?" Rikun had a small grin on his face as his punched Zen lightly on the shoulder. "I want to be Sandaime, but I want to receive it for my skills, not just because I have more Yokai blood in me. I want to receive the title fair and square. _

_"Woohooo" Zen whistled, impressed by Rikun's sense of pride at such a young age. " I promise to oversee the outcome of this promise then, whether you win or lose." Zen said holding out his fist in front of Rikun._

_"I couldn't ask for more, You better not drop dead before I win, cause I'm definitely going to become the Third!" Rikun eyes shone as he fist bumped with Zen._

_"So sure of yourself? As you said, don't underestimate Rikuo, he is my younger sworn brother." Zen replied a few seconds late, captivated by Rikun's eyes. As expected of all the Nura Clan successors to have such charisma. I will definitely see either Rikun or Rikuo take Nura Clan to the top._

* * *

Hebidaiyu accelerated his attack, concentrating his aim on Zen head.

Pause.

His fangs were so close that Zen could feel his breath and his eyes that were telling biding him farewell. His will was solid strong that Zen would have wanted to promote him if he were his boss and if the force behind the will wasn't a murderous intention. However, being that Zen was no longer his boss and the drive behind his will was to murder Zen, Zen didn't give him damn, except for him own cold glare.

Pause.

He attacked.

* * *

**A/N:** Helllooo again. This Zen bit was only going to be 2 chapters long but yeah now its going to be 3 chapters. It was longer than i expected but i hope you like it :3

the next chapter should be rather short and all and it will be posted on sometime this week I think. Thanks for reading ! Please Review :D ( I shall introduce the secrets of the ominous aura surrounding Rikuo's left hand sooon :) hehehehe)


	5. Chapter 5

**A Promise From the Past**

_**Warnings: **Rihan's not dead, Yamabuki wasn't used as a host, Nurariyhon is still young and Rikuo and his night from are 2 different people, oOc-ness, OC's, grammatical mistakes, spelling etc_

**_Disclaimer: _**_I do not own Nurarihyon no mago. But the OC's are mine._

_to **xxicexsnowxx: **There will be more Rihanxotome moments soon :D (hehehe, though I'm not too confident in my romantic scene I'll try my best)  
_

_to **Fangking 2: **well, Rikuo is very oOc in this story ( hope you like him though), wakana will be introduced in the next chapter, as for the rest, it's still a secret ;) hehehe _

_Enjoy~_

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

* * *

The boy jumped from bamboo to bamboo, scanning the area with his eyes. boy stopped upon hearing a sound in the air as if something small was flying towards him quickly. He turned around and saw his distressed retainer come to an abrupt stop as he approached closer to the boy.

"Ah. Tengu you're still here? I thought you got lost." the boy said nonchalantly while watching his small retainer, the tengu, breathe heavily to catch his breath

"Don't 'ah' me Rikuo-sama! You were the one who suddenly ran towards this bamboo forest and called out : _Tengu! If you don't come quick I'll leave you behind!_ Let alone leaving me behind, you even forgot my presence half way!" The Tengu huffed in anger, probably not even half way through. "Remember Rikuo-sama, um...Rikuo-sama, are you listening?" The tengu looked at Rikuo who was already dozing off.

"Mmmm...I was," Rikuo yawned "But your story seemed long so I stopped listening from the bit when you mentioned running towards a bamboo forest."

_That bit was from the very beginning!- _The tengu thought while clenching his fist, wanting to blast the laziness from his boss, but being only the retainer, it would be rude so he controlled himself and sighed in defeat.

"One moment you run off, the next moment I chase after you through this dense forest and I take my eyes off you for half a second and you're up in the sky! Please think about your actions more! So, what are you doing here?"

"Yokai hunting. I do think about my actions though, I ran into this forest because I sensed a yokai and I climbed up here to search for him more easily."

"Yep, I got it." the tengu said sarcastically while shaking his head. "So where's the Yokai you're hunting?"

"Down there." Rikuo answered casually pointing down towards a man, who was probably a yokai, and a snake faced yokai who was attacking him.

Tengu's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he witnessed the fight between the two youkai's. "Since when!"

"They've been there since the beginning, so you caught up to me at just the right time. Nice." Rikuo half heartedly complimented the Tengu and continued watching the two yokai heedless to the Tengu's fit, for reasons unknown to Rikuo.

_I wonder if he's hungry? guess that manju wasn't enough. _Rikuo wondered

_I can't believe I didn't notice a yokai who was right under my nose and worst of all I could have let Rikuo-sama and I get exposed!-_ Tengu threw his hands in the air. _I've got to bring myself together..._

"Looks like big bro over there is in danger." Rikuo called out, bringing Tengu out from his own wonderland as he saw the man stumble backwards clutching his injured shoulder and his attacker closing in.

"What are you planning Rikuo-sama?" The Tengu eyed Rikuo to try decipher his intentions but Rikuo was hard too read so he gave up.

"I'm not planning anything, it wasn't the yokai I was expecting but the big bro over there is interesting. He has some guts for a short-lived yokai, I wonder what's the source of his determination?"

"But it's odd to have a yokai fight here, in this time of the day." The tengu questioned looking at the sunset. "We yokai generally brawl at night."

"It's not a brawl. " Rikuo's eyebrows furrowed." it's a gekokujyou ( Means to defeat the greater and take his place.)"

* * *

Hebidaiyu's fangs tore through a few layers of Zen's kimono and stopped. Zen could feel the tip of the fang press against his skin and was half-relieved, half -disgusted. He was glad that Hebidaiyu's fang wasn't equipped with poison but having a traitorous bastard so close to him was unpleasant.

"Tsk, Zen you don't know when to give up."

Zen wasn't in the best predicament because on the very last second of Hebidaiyu's attack he grabbed a nearby bamboo branch and was able to miraculously lodge it into Hebidaiyu's throat to prevent him from taking closing his fangs. Zen never would have even thought that a single bamboo branch was keeping him alive.

"Give up? Wait a few more decades for that to happen jerk." Zen growled.

"Even in this situation you have a sharp tongue, and your determination isn't bad, if only you weren't so lousy and could make the right decisions on who to follow."

Crack.

"The ones following you are the ones who are mad, like I said earlier and I'll repeat it as many times as to prove my point, you won't even be able to reach half of Rikun's feat." Zen argued with pure confidence, that the look in Zen's eyes caused Hebidaiyu to flinch a little. "To think that you once exchanged sake cups to prove your loyalty."

Crack.

"Loyalty? That means absolutely nothing! Just a word and nothing more, and you'll soon realise how useless it is. So cry all you want, lady luck is fading away now." Hebidaiyu applied more force into his bite.

Crack.

Zen cringed as he felt a pain shot through his body, the source coming from Hebidaiyu's fang slowly piercing into Zen's skin. His grip on the bamboo branch was weak and could feel it slowly splitting apart.

_Tsk, is this it? I at least wanted to officially between your sworn brother, Rikun, Rikuo..._ - Zen closed his eyes prepared for the worst, his fingers slipping off the branch. Just before his eyelids shut completely, he caught a glimpse of something black hurling towards him in the corner of his eye.

A moment's pause.

* * *

"Gah! Who are you!?"

_What? That's Hebidaiyu's voice? and hey, I'm alive?- _Zen wondered what kind of miracle happened and then he realised that his body felt light, like a yokai wasn't pinning him down anymore, but this feeling started and ended instantly as his injuries from his chest and arm were throbbing.

"Geez, Tengu do you know of patience?"

"But Rikuo-sama! This guy was getting on my nerves! His very existence is staining loyalty!"

_These voices...who are they? wait. wait a moment. Did I just hear...Rikuo? -_ Zen slowly opened his eyes to unravel the mysteries in his head. But never would Zen had thought to see a enchanting boy jump down in front of him, landing softly on the ground as the sun set in the background. His disquieting smile, gave him an all-knowing look.

Zen gaped at the sight of this boy and a small bird flying in front of him. _What is Karasu Tengu doing here? No. That's not Karasu Tengu, they look similar but they're not the same. This youkai's beak is longer. But more importantly this boy, he features are definitely..._

"Hellooo? Mister? Wakey-wakey come back to the world of the living." Rikuo called out to him, waving his hand in front of Zen's face.

"Ah!" Zen let out a yelp of surprise just realised how close the boy's face was and jerked backwards. It totally backfired because his sudden movement instigated the pain.

"Take it easy, you're injuries are pretty ba-"

"Why are you guys interfering? Get out of the way or else I'll kill you too." Hebidaiyu hissed.

Zen looked horrified, if this boy was the boy he thought he was. "Run! You're no match for him-"

"The injured should just stay still and watch. I didn't save you and hurl myself into this hard-headed dimwit without a plan, it's night. Don't underestimate Rikuo-sama because of his appearance, even though he's lazy, and never takes anything seriously, he is strong ." the Tengu interrupted Zen and shot him a sharp glare which shut him up.

"Rikuo-sama? Oh! What a perfect opportunity! I can eliminate Zen and the little brat of the Nura Clan who selfishly leaves and comes running back, what a great harvest." Hebidaiyu licked his lips.

"Oi, oi could you stop confusing me with someone else? Did Tengu knock out the rest of the little brain cells you had in that rock-head of yours?" Rikuo smiled while insulting ever so casually.

"Hmph! What can a human like you do!"

"This will be a great exercise, I've been feeling slightly irritated today. Everyone keeps confusing me with someone they know and it's causing me problems. So you don't mind if I go all out right?" Rikuo's sweet smile broke into a smirk. Youki gathered around his body and his hair grew longer by a few centimetres, hovering in the air.

Hebidaiyu cowered from the immensity of the youki, but even if he tried to look indifferent, it still caused him to step backwards unconsciously. "I-I-I could beat you in an insta-"

In that split second, before Hebidaiyu could react, a blade was in front of his face with a pair of amber eyes gleefully looking at him.

"Nee, A youkai loses a fight the second he shows fear towards his opponent."

_When did he get here! Those captivating eyes! The trademark of the Heirs of the Nura Clan! There's no mistake! The other young master has come back! _ _I have to inform the others of his streng-_

"Good bye. Hope you are born with some brains in your next life."

_He's going to slice me in two!_

* * *

"Karasu-Tengu! Are you sure we are going in the right direction?" Rikun asked the overseer of the Nura clan.

"I believe this is the direction I saw the Oboro-garuma crash." Karasu Tengu answered with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"I need a pinpoint location! Zen is in danger!" Rikun grunted, ashamed at himself for not realising the dangers approaching his older brother earlier. _I knew I should have forced Zen to stay at the main house!_

Rikun glanced upwards at the sky and he noticed that the sun had set, the night was slowly creeping in. _It's nearly night! Come on Zen, please wait for us!_ Rikun was excessively worried about Zen because youkai's tend to power up during the night, this concept applied to him as well. But Zen, who had a naturally weak body was an exception.

"Rikun-sama! The crows tell me that Oboro-garuma crashed further into this forest!"

"Lead me!"

"With pleasure!" Karasu-Tengu replied proudly. "We're going to take a shortcut!"

* * *

**-NURA RESIDENCE-**

BANG.

Yamabuki Otome slid open the door, in an almost too calm and too composed manner after hearing such a noise from the room. Probably because whenever the first and second generations of the Nura leaders are together, nothing could ever be 'normal' but the scene was still quite a spectacle to see.

Nurarihyon, as casual as he is, was shaking his fist up and down in a sort of manner as if he were nursing it from a earlier pain. Rihan on the other hand, was quite the opposite of 'casual' for he was lying face flat on the coffee table; head, arms and legs dangling off the edges. What exactly could have happened to cause such a scene?

"Nurarihyon-sama," Otome let out a slight chuckle before she continued. "Don't you think giving your son a painful clout on the head is unreasonable?" She walked towards the unconscious Rihan, lending him a shoulder to lean on.

"I thought he would be immune to my blows considering the numbers he received from you." Nurarihyon joked while settling himself comfortably in the corner of the room. "But my, does he have a hard head, I felt like I just punched the rock."

"Stop with the jokes, of course your blows would be stronger than mine." Otome said, unaware of her own strength. "So what caused a nice father-son chat to end up in a physical fight?"

"It was fairly obvious that Rihan was eavesdropping on my conversation with Rikun earlier, but I decided to let him hear it, he deserves to. But this son of mine jumped to a conclusion when I stopped him from leaving. As a result..."

_"Oyaji! We have to go find him now!" Rihan insisted by slamming his hands on the table. His amber eyes wavering._

_"No, you heard about the circumstances he's in from Rikun. We will take action, but not today." _

_"Tomorrow won't do! What if he decides to leave again! Do you not care about your other grandson anymore?!"_

_Nurarihyon's eyebrow twitched in an angry manner_

"...my fist thundered down on his head to calm him down before I knew it."

"You sure have a way to solve things." Otome giggled as she proceeded to drag him out of the room. "But calming him down was a lie right? I'm guessing that Rihan-sama said something insensitive..."

Nurarihyon flinched

"Bingo!" Otome smiled. "I know that you're just as worried, cause we all feel the same." she added sadly.

"There was a period of time when you were in the room by yourself, between when Rikun left and Rihan came right? I wonder what you were doing then?" She implied something while staring a small damp mark on the newspaper.

"Tsk, how does Rihan manage to woo the most perceptive women? Both you and her..." Nurarihyon sighed in defeat.

Otome smiled at Nurarihyon's indirect compliment. "I'm going to take Rihan-sama to his room."

"Stay next to him until he wakes up."

"Of course, I'll be there to support him when he does."

"Otome, you're getting the wrong idea."

Otome looked at the Shodaisho with an puzzled expression on her face.

"I don't want you to support him, I want him to support you. You have done a good job hiding it, but such an act won't slip past my radar. You've put up with so much just so you could support Rihan, isn't it about time you let loose and be honest with your own feelings?"

* * *

**-SOMEWHERE IN THE FOREST-**

"Owwwwwww!" Zen yelped so loudly. "Can't you be any gentler?" He shouted at the small boy tending to his wounds.

"Shut up you insolent fool! Rikuo-sama is kind enough to treat your wounds and that's the way you speak with him!" The tengu scolded Zen before turning his head to Rikuo. "Rikuo-sama! Why are you aiding his wounds for! He's a yokai that specialises with medicines, he can do that himself!"

"Why? Because he gave me a lollipop." Rikuo replied straight-faced but sparkles were glittering in his eyes.

"Kind? You guys would have left me here after you took down Hebidaiyu if not for the lollipop!" Zen complained

_"Yosh, let's go Tengu. Our business is done here." Rikuo called over to the small bird whose eyes were shining in admiration. It also snapped Zen out of his state of awe._

_Zen sweat dropped, he couldn't let this boy leave without asking a few questions. From all the information he has gathered so far, this boy does not remember the Nura Clan. But there is no doubt that he is the Rikuo that disappeared 10 years ago. _

_"W-wait! Can't you tend to my wounds before you go?" Zen said quickly with a lack of a better idea._

_The two walking away kind of looked at him with a 'huh' expression on their face. It was an awkward silence before the Tengu spoke up angrily. "We already saved your life and now you want us to see to your wounds? Don't think we did this to save your ass! We just wanted to beat that snake bastard."_

_Damn. Damn. Damn. At this rate they're going to leave before I find out their true identities!- Zen thought while he was using his free arm to search his kimono for anything that was useful. _

_"I'll give you this l-l-lollipop?" Zen asked half-heartedly, quite positive that they wouldn't fall for this cheap bribe._

_"Hahaha! As if we would fall for that kind of bribe..." Tengu laughed _

_I knew this lollipop I received from Yuki-onna earlier wouldn't be useful- Zen sighed_

_...right Rikuo-sama?" Tengu turned to face his boss but only to find a bamboo shoot in front of him._

_"I guess it can't be helped." Rikuo was already seated in front of Zen, wrapping him arm is a bandage he whipped out magically, of course, with the lollipop in his mouth. This unexpected turn of events left both the tengu and Zen gaping with their mouths wide open._

"Not to mention that Hebidaiyu is still alive and you were thinking of leaving me here!" Zen looked at Hebidaiyu who was knocked unconscious on the ground. Zen almost pitied him because he had a sword indent that ran through the middle of his face. The fact that he wasn't dead was more surprising even though it might have hurt so much it felt like death.

"Wow, is he really still alive?" Zen couldn't help but question.

"Are your eyes as blind as his?" The tengu rudely exclaimed. "Rikuo-sama's sword can't kill because the blade is reversed!"

"Why?" Zen asked in a small voice, unable to grasp the idea why anyone would want a blade that can't kill but he had feeling that he shouldn't go into that issue any further cause the Tengu beside was shooting him death glares. _Oh! Maybe's it's because he's 'Rikuo'? Rikuo always treasured life, but then again his personality has changed ridiculously, but he still likes lollipops an awful lot-_Zen took a peep at the boy who was happily sucking on his candy, even though he didn't show much emotion on his face. _Shall I test him again to see if this Rikuo still shares some memories with that 'Rikuo'? _

"Hey, can I ask you a few questions?" Zen's softened his expression, prepared to get scolded by the Tengu who was almost the mirror image of someone he knew, both appearance and personality wise.

"How many times have-"

Just as Zen predicted, here it comes.

"I don't mind, if it's just a few questions." Rikuo glanced up him and answered in a very cool manner. "But how I answer them is my choice."

"R-Rikuo-sama..." The Tengu always seemed to get dragged into Rikuo's pace.

_Okay, I've achieved step one: To make him agree to answer my questions. Now what should I ask first? _Zen recalled through the memories of Rikuo that he could remember, and he it turns out that Rikuo's cute, rosy cheeks left the deepest impression. He must have unconsciously had a very creepy smile on his face while he was remembering because the he felt a murderous aura directed at him.

_There might be someone more prone to kill me than Hebidaiyu here, _Zen sweat dropped at the thought. _Anyway, if I can ask something decent I can acquire some information on 'Rikuo' and maybe it can even jolt his memories, if he even lost it in the first place. _

"Ummm, Rikuo...kun?" Zen almost forgot to add the suffix at the end. "You're really cute.."

"Thanks mister." Rikuo replied coolly like normal, he often heard this compliment so didn't really defy the norm for him. "But you know, that's not a question."

"... are you sure you're not a girl?" came trailing after.

There was a long silence that caused Zen to start worrying. Usually Rikuo would have made a simple statement and ended the conversation there or Tengu would be screaming at how rude he was. He looked at Tengu, hoping he would break this silence with his usual pep talk. Tengu's was horrified at Zen's sudden words that colour had drained from his face and the hardness in his eyes had disappeared. It seems that Zen had inadvertently stepped on a land mine.

He gulped before started to rigidly turn his head back to face Rikuo who had his fringe covering his face, rendering his expression unreadable. A small sound of a lollipop crushing had sent shivers down Zen's spine also noticing that the movement of the bandages had stopped. It all couldn't be a coincidence.

Zen shivered when he saw a brilliant smile on Rikuo's face. A ghastly expression would have been better.

Rikuo placed his right hand on Zen's left shoulder, drawing Zen closer to himself and while maintaining the smile, he nailed his left fist into Zen's solar plexus.

"Ah! Guh..." Zen was half-disappointed because the reaction was definitely different from 10 years ago but was also half-impressed from the power behind the small fist of his, or maybe it was because he hit it directly in a painful spot.

"Mister, I've finished with the treatment, you should be able to keep your life if you see to it properly. Whatever you want to your former attendant is your choice, I've completed my side of the deal so I'm going to leave ." Zen saw that Rikuo's cool, stone face mask had returned and was on his way.

Zen was going to stop Rikuo from leaving because he still hadn't found out anything. He reached his hand out but a wave of animosity washed over him, causing his hand to start shaking in fear. Then he heard a voice echo in his head, a voice full of hatred and wrath but was no doubt amused.

_Stupid boy, what are you trying to stick your nose in?_

_Stop interfering with my toy._

_Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer. But what if your friend turns out to be your enemy?_

_Will you kill him? _

_The final curtain cannot be raised for my curse has not yet begun._

Zen fell to the floor, clutching in head in pain. The voice was incredibly ominous, he felt like it would drive him mad. His entire body ached from this terrible feeling, it was long past the point of unsettling. Of course his lungs had to act up now, he felt like they were on fire. He coughed out, grabbing his chest firmly, struggling to breathe.

Zen falling to the floor had caught the attention of Rikuo and Tengu who were well and truly surprised. He was well enough to prank a few seconds ago and now he looks like a dying fish.

"Rikuo-sama, let's go. We can't idle here any longer, your youki will definitely attract attention of others." Tengu said coldly, ignoring the crisis Zen was in, but like always, Rikuo had already disappeared from Tengu's side.

"Tengu, as cold-hearted as we are, I do not wish for him to die here. I just spent my afternoon saving his ass, if I knew he was dying now from his inborn sickness, I wouldn't have even bothered."

"But Rikuo-sama, what can we do now?" Tengu asked "This isn't a sickness that can be patched up with a bandage." He stated the truth after looking at the immense pain Zen was in.

"Tsk, I've got no choice." Rikuo crouched over to Zen and hovered his hand over his back. He exhaled and inhaled before a golden glow radiated his hand. Zen's breath started to calm down and his hand released his chest, relieved from the pain. He felt his body bubble in warmth, clearing away the eerie presence he felt earlier.

Zen didn't know what had happened. His mind was a mess. But one thing he did know was that Rikuo had saved him again, even if he didn't know how. Yet, he was going to let him leave again? Zen gathered the last of his strength and reached out to grab Rikuo's left wrist. However, his hand retracted from a static shock.

" Rikuo, do you have anything on your wrist?" Zen asked in a serious tone, because from that static shock he felt a similar animosity to the one that had nearly triggered his death flag.

"Mmmm? Well, yeah a bead bracelet." Rikuo answered honestly and rolled up a bit of his left sleeve to show a brown, beaded bracelet.

"What is it?"

Rikuo sighed and looked at Zen with this are-you-really-that-blind face. "Isn't it obvious? It's a bracelet."

"I know that, I mean is there anything odd about it?"

"Why? Well I don't know if this counts as weird but I've had it on since for as long as I could remember and it's impossible to take off."

"Rikuo-sama! That's supposed to be a secret!" Tengu shouted slapping his wing over Rikuo's mouth.

"ZEN!" A deep voice called from a distance.

"Now look, others have come! Let's go Rikuo-sama!" Tengu told Rikuo for about the umpteenth time.

"Wait! Just answer this one question before you go!"

"No! How many times are you planning to stop us!" Tengu shot his head back to face Rikuo. " He must have an ulterior motive!"

"Are you an enemy...or an ally...of the Nura Clan?"

Rikuo once again had the disquieting smile, all too confident as he spoke while disappearing silently into the darkness.

"I'm your enemy, your foremost enemy."

* * *

"Zen!" Rikun jumped out from the shrubbery and landed next to the battered Zen.

"Rikun! Karasu-Tengu! What are you doing here?"

"We heard about Hebidaiyu's attack and came running here." Karasu-Tengu said, brushing the leaves of his head.

"Where is that bastard." Anger flashed through Rikun's crimson eyes as he took a look at Zen's crippled state.

"He's here Rikun-sama!" Karasu-Tengu called from next to Hebidaiyu's knocked out form. "Wow, that looks painful." he muttered after taking a look at Hebidaiyu's demented face.

"Eh? Then where's Nidaime?"

"Karasu-Tengu, what are you talking about?" Zen and Rikun simultaneously spoke at the same time.

"The one that beat Hebidaiyu and treated Zen was Rihan-sama, wasn't it?"

"Karasu-Tengu, like I said, how did you come up with that conclusion?" Rikun raised an eyebrow while placing Nenekirimaru over his shoulder.

"The youki that was, and still is, lingering in the air belongs to a hanyo. The only hanyo's in Tokyo are Rikun-sama and Nidaime. But Rikun-sama was with me so the youki must have belonged to Nidaime, though it felt a bit off." Karasu-Tengu explained his reasoning only to receive a look of surprise from Rikun.

"Oh Karasu-Tengu, you noticed that youki." Rikun nodded his head impressed. "But too bad, that was not Oyaji."

"Wait, Rikun so that means you know who it was..." Zen said in response to Rikun while Karasu-Tengu was glancing at the two men back and forwards, bewildered by where the conversation was going and slightly offended that Rikun had underestimated his senses. He had served Nurarihyon-sama for centuries now, of course he could sense youki! Differentiating them apart was a different story.

"So, what shall we do to this bastard?" Rikun ignored Zen's statement from earlier and had already moved over to Hebidaiyu, his unsheathed blade over his head, ready to bring down the ultimate retribution.

"Ah Rikun, don't bother. He's not worth being sliced by the Nenekirimaru, I'll just exile him from the family. Maybe he could change his ways, if not, I'll personally deal with him then." Zen answered and passed off the topic easily, he had better stuff to deal with.

"Zen, you're too nice of a guy." Rikun sighed at his plopped himself next to Zen. "So, what do you want?"

"I want to officially become your sworn brother, so exchange sakazuki with me." Zen said with a fierce conviction evident in his eyes. "I understand my life is as fragile like a candle and can be blown out very easily. That's why I want to bet the remaining of my life on your capability-"

"Capability? What a joke! Zen, the amount of life left over doesn't mean a thing! The Nura Clan will fall!" A voice hissed from behind. Hebidaiyu regained his conscious and stood up feebly, still a bit dazed from an previous attack. "I destroy you! All of you! Zen, Sandaime, the other young master and the NURA CLAN OVERALL!" Hebidaiyu shouted in a frenzy as he launched an attack at Rikun and the group.

"Karasu-Tengu, look after Zen." Rikun said in a dark voice while his white fringes masked his expression.

"h-hai Rikun-sama." Karasu-Tengu flew over to Zen as his sweat dropped at the current mood of the Sandaime.

"DIE SANDAIME! NURA RIKUN!"

Rikun glowered at Hebidaiyu as he held Nenekirimaru in an angle that the moonlight could reflect off it. As soon as Rikun revealed his crimson eyes as well as a strong wave of youki, everyone there was reminded once again of who he was and what he was capable of.

This was Déjà vu.

In a instant, Hebidaiyu found a blade in his face and a pair of aggravated crimson orbs that evoked the deepest fear. _So this is the power of the Nurarihyon Bloodline..._

"If you even had one-thousandth of the righteousness of Zen, I would have even spared your life." Before Hebidaiyu could even process his thoughts, a cold blade ran through his body, slicing him in half.

Rikun landed softly on the ground then moved back to where Zen and Karasu-Tengu was. "Zen, where were we?" Rikun poured himself a cup of sake and had his hand held out. This gesture snapped Zen and Karasu-Tengu out of their state of .

"Well, you do carry the blood of the Supreme Commander, the Lord of the Pandemonium." Zen smiled proudly to think that his guy would become his brother. _As expected of half-brothers, both of them drowned me and the paranoid Tengu's in their awe, _Zen laughed at the thought as he also tipped himself a cup of sake and held his hand next to Rikun's.

"Rikun, the time has come after 10 long years, take Nura Clan to the top and show me!"

"Of course," Rikun smirked. "I'll prove to Rikuo and to the others that I will achieve greater feats than Oyaji's Golden Age. I'll protect you in the process, since you're a weak yokai."

"Such proud words, can you stay true to them?" Zen chuckled sarcastically. "And the last bit was unnecessary."

Karasu-Tengu still flew above the two men, watching over them, especially Rikun. He felt like he could cry when he heard Rikun say he would take over because recently he has been refusing to take the position. There were still parts of the conversation he couldn't catch on but he did hear Hebidaiyu mention the other young master. Karasu Tengu's eyes furrowed remembering the words, this was indeed the major hurdle that Rikun, and the rest of the Clan have to overcome.

_Where are you, Rikuo-sama?_

* * *

"Achooo!" Rikuo sneezed.

"Rikuo-sama, did you catch a cold?"

"Maybe." He answered as small grin crossed his face.

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter, the Zen arc went for longer than I expected ._.' . Yeah and sorry I lied, I said I would update it in a week but I couldn't write it quick enough and I said it would be short but it turned out to be a long chapter . so Im not going say anything this time yep. Anyway, thanks for reading :D I hope I didn't reveal too may secrets in this chapter

Please revieww!


	6. Chapter 6

**A Promise From the Past**

_**Warnings: **Rihan's not dead, Yamabuki wasn't used as a host, Nurariyhon is still young and Rikuo and his night from are 2 different people, oOc-ness, OC's, grammatical mistakes, spelling etc_

**_Disclaimer: _**_I do not own Nurarihyon no mago. But the OC's are mine._

_Enjoy~ _

* * *

Without looking at the clock, it was probably only around 6am in the morning. The sun had just risen, which explains the dim room that admitted just a bit of light. Rikuo groaned as he helped himself out of bed, his hair being a mess and his eyes that looked half-dead with black circles. That's right, Rikuo was angry, annoyed and sleep deprived.

There were three sources that caused this. First, was because of Tengu's long lectures last night and it just happened to be when Rikuo was going to take a nice, deep sleep to replenish his energy he used unnecessarily during the day.

_-Last Night, 11pm-_

_"Rikuo-sama! Like I've always told you, you need to be more aware of your own situation!"_

_"Ah right Tengu, please save it for another day." Rikuo yawned, deep down he was dreading that it wouldn't start now. Tengu wasn't mean enough to sacrifice Rikuo's sleep to listen to his lectures, right?_

_"No! Rikuo-sama I will not let you off the hook today! To think you even performed 'that' ability on him, that was a secret between you and me! Not even 'she' knows about it! How are you going to take responsibility! Come to think of it, this incident reminds me of the time when..."_

_Ok. Apparently not. Tengu was that mean._

Thinking back on Tengu's lecture caused Rikuo to develop a slight migraine. The second source was caused by the eccentric landlady next door, Aozaki Aoi. Honestly, Rikuo felt that calling her eccentric was an understatement after what happened yesterday.

Tengu had no choice but to cut his speech short because he had some other 'urgent' business he had to take care of. However, just as Rikuo was going to make his way into his room he had unfortunately meet Aoi who was in a drunken stupor.

Much against Rikuo's will, he was forcibly dragged into her room. Under normal circumstances, he would smiled, ignored her and went to sleep but sadly, the circumstances were far from normal.

Anyway, for the next following hours he kept Aoi company. It was no easy job either. Her room was full of antiques, with barely enough room to fit two people. It made Rikuo think whether her room and his room were really the same size. She continued chugging down bottles of alcohol and it began with dancing, then storytelling, one man acting, singing and ended with paper-scissors-rock slap.

The game was easy, winner slaps loser. It turned complicated because Aoi tried to hit Rikuo when she won, but would also do the same if she lost as well. Rikuo refused to be hit and he had no intention to hit as well, because it would be tiring and hitting a lady while she's drunk is just...unfair. The irony. His last choice was to run.

Now that Rikuo's thought about it once again, maybe knocking her out with a clean hit to the neck would have been easier and more energy conservative than running around for a hour and waiting for her to tire herself out. Funny. Humans tend to realise the smarter option after experiencing the more difficult one.

Rikuo could not fully explain the third source. He heard sounds from the vacant room next to him and that was what kept waking him up during the night. The walls in this dangerously cheap apartment are fairly thin, so sounds and noises from the next room can easily be heard. Anyway, Rikuo concluded that someone moved in while he was away.

This person however, had already left a bad first impression even without Rikuo meeting them. Rikuo knew that it was a young girl, probably still in middle or high school judging from the pitch and tone of her voice. Another thing he knew that was that she was from Osaka or Kyoko because she spoke with an accent. The last thing he knew was that she was unbelievably gullible and clumsy. An simple-ton to sum it up.

Throughout the night, constant shouts from the room woke him up time after time. They were all things like:

"Oh no, my noodles aren't warm because I didn't boil the water!"

or

"Hmmmm, my brother told me that if I shake the coke bottle before opening it, it will have greater effect than coffee!"

...

"PHWAHHHH-WHAT! WHY DID IT SUDDENLY SPURT OUT?!"

* * *

The fact the she fell for her brother's trick meant that she probably wasn't exposed to an normal childhood and was constantly under the guidance of elders. It wouldn't be a surprise if she belonged to a prominent family of some sort, but it seems like she would believe almost anyone, even if they weren't the best of liars. Somehow, these characteristics reminded Rikuo of a certain someone.

All this reminiscing made time pass quickly because it was already time to go to school. Rikuo threw his bag over his shoulder and proceeded out even though his head was still swirling with sleep.

It was an early morning in the Nura Household as well. The only one who was awake was Yamabuki Otome, who was gently combing her smooth, black hair next to Rihan who was lying in bed. At first, her gaze was on Rihan's face before she turned towards an altar in the corner of the room. Her hands stopped moving, an melancholy look was apparent on her face as she gave a faint smile while she looked at a beautiful picture in the frame; a woman with chocolate coloured hair wearing a bright yellow kimono and a warm, soothing smile.

"Don't worry, we'll find him soon. That way we can all be together once again." she mumbled quietly to herself feeling tears well up in her eyes.

"Otome."

Otome quickly blinked away the tears in her eyes and looked at Rihan, whose amber eyes were coming into sight.

"Rihan-sama, how are you feeling?" Otome had composed herself and smiled at Rihan who still looked like he had headache.

"Ughhh, anything but ok." He groaned, "Jeez, Oyaji doesn't know how to hold back."

"Looks like you're okay, but you were at fault you know." Otome laughed

"Um..yeah...the blood rushed to my head at the mention, I lost control of my feelings. Sorry for troubling you." Rihan embarrassingly scratched the back of his head as he remember how childish he acted.

"Don't worry about me, you better apologise to Nurarihyon-sama," Otome brushed her kimono and got up in a proper manner. "I've got to prepare breakfast, everyone is going to wake up soon."

"Wait." A sudden deep voice startled her and tightly grasped her wrist. Otome looked back at Rihan and found his amber eyes directed at her. Those eyes conveyed so much feeling that Otome found herself averting her eyes away. She couldn't remain composed around him if he kept this up, she felt all her emotions bubbling to the top; the emotions she suppressed for so many years.

"W-what is it Rihan-sama?"

"What were the meaning of those tears earlier?"

Otome gasped _He saw me earlier, but I need to come up with a lie or else, or else, I won't be able to fulfil my promise with her..._

"Nothing, some dust just flew in my eye."

"Otome, you're lying. You clean this place daily with Yuki-Onna, I doubt you'll miss some dust at this point."

"You think too highly of me, even I can make erro-"

"Wakana."

Otome didn't understand why, after all these years she thought she could keep herself all in control but even now at the mention of her name, tears immediately trickled down her face. Of course, Rihan noticed the damps marks that appeared on the floor one after another.

"Do those tears really mean nothing?"

"y-yep." Otome gave an unconvincing reply which left Rihan sighing at the stubbornness of his wife, but it was probably his fault that resulted in her developing it.

"You know, we found Rikuo. He is wandering in Ukiyoe Town." Rihan's voice seemed just a bit sad but relieved, "A few things aren't the same but he is alive. So are you really..."

The tears continued to fall, it was unstoppable. Her hand cupped her mouth and her legs gave in, causing her to fall to the floor. Contradicting emotions thoughts swirled around in her head. A part of her wanted to just give in to her emotions just for this moment but the other told her to remain strong to the end.

"...okay?"

"Rihan-sama, what should I do...with these feelings?" Otome sobbed unable come to an decision.

Otome suddenly found herself pulled towards a warmth and a pair of large hands embracing her.

"R-Rihan-sama?"

"Don't say anything, let me do the comforting this time." Rihan's arms wrapped tightly around Otome's slender body.

From Rihan's large hands, it released a heat that passed through the kimono and she could feel it against her cold skin. The warmth was engulfing her, like how the spring sun engulfs the winter snow.

A hug. An Embrace.

It was none other than a simple act they do on a daily basis, and yet, this time it feels different. Rihan's warmth ran through her body and penetrated the deepest parts of her heart.

"Otome, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you feel this way. Even though I knew that you had disregarded your own feelings and prioritised mine, I didn't do anything. Even though you had also wanted to cry that night, you had to put up with my outrage. I'm sorry."

"Rihan-sama, it's not your fault." She reached out and caressed Rihan's cheek. "It was my own decision. That night, you had suffered the most. Didn't I tell you, when we married, that I will support you to the best of my ability?"

"Hahahaha," Rihan laughed. "Geez, what a way to make me look bad, even though I said that I would comfort you just then, you had just comforted me."

Otome simply smiled.

"Cry all you want today, Otome."

"I already have Rihan-sama."

"Mmmm...after all that talking, I'm getting a bit thirsty." Rihan said in a very suggestive voice.

"I'll get you some wate-" Otome released herself from Rihan's clutches but then a hand suddenly grabbed her from behind and she found a pair of sweet lips pressed upon her own.

"No need," Rihan smirked "My thirst has just been quenched." closing one of his eyes, that casual, playful face appeared once again.

"Rihan-sama!" Otome complained while blushing.

"Since we have time, shall we move on to round two?" Rihan threw his arm over Otome's shoulder and smoothly inched his face closer, until it was only a few centimetres apart.

"You are as bold as ever, I hope Rikun doesn't turn out as bold as you."

"Mmmmm? Nah, I think he will turn out even bolder."

Rihan leaned in just that bit closer and could already smell his wife's nice fragrance. But as his lips brushed against hers, the was a sudden cough from the door.

"Umm...Otome-sama, Rikun-sama is calling you." Kubinashi said while blushing, covering his face with his hands and attempting to look away but anyone could tell that he was peeping through his fingers.

"Ah..ah..Right..I'll prepare breakfast right away!" Otome rushed out, still feeling Rihan's warmth in her body and her heart thumping louder than ever.

"Geez, Kubinashi, if your gonna look then look, stop peeping through your fingers." Rihan sighed. "Each and everyone of you...choosing the worst timing."

"You should use your time more wisely then, instead of loitering around everyday."

"Kubinashi, don't be so stingy, no wonder why you're not popular with anyone other than Kino." Rihan teased, "Ahhh must be tough on her."

"RIHAN!"

"Hoho, that's the Kubinashi I know~" Rihan draped the left side of his kimono on his left shoulder and took off, flashing a cheesy smile before he left.

* * *

**Ukiyoe Middle School, Class 2-3**

"Morning! Kana." Maki greeted her close friend and politely sat in the seat in front of Kana. "Did you get a good night sleep?"

"Morning Saori-chan, I feel much better after recollecting my thoughts, thanks!" Kana replied cheerfully.

"So, do you think they are the same person? This Nura Rikuo and that Nura Rikuo?"

Kana's face lowered a bit as she fiddled with her fingers on the desk. "I don't know what to think. The appearance and name are exactly the same but for some reason, something about him feels different from before."

"Like what in general?"

"How do I explain it? I felt this yesterday as well but didn't go too deep into it, but it feels like that Rikuo-kun from 10 years ago was more open, or more honest? I'm not saying that this Rikuo-kun, I mean Nura-kun, is lying, but he feels distant, like there is a barrier around him."

"Ummm...Saori-chan?" Kana waved her hand in front of her impressed friend.

"Oh right, sorry. You're really close to him to understand that much." Saori said which caused Kana to blush. "So where is Nura? Class is almost starting and he hasn't arrived?"

"No, he's here." Kana pointed behind her, tilting her head so Maki could see. "But he's sleeping."

"WOW! Since when?!" Maki jumped up from the chair in surprise

"He arrived just before I did, but fell asleep the second he sat down. Should we wake him up?"

"Nah, don't bother. If that NURA is sleeping then he must be tired. Besides, I don't think the teachers will have a problem with it. Yesterday, on all the pre-tests to gauge his level, he managed to ace every single one of them."

"Oh yeah," Kana said, remembering the teachers praise that Rikuo took with a nonchalant look. _If it were Rikuo-kun instead, he would have definitely blushed at the praise._

"Everyone! Please return to your seats! Class is starting!" The homeroom teacher walked in, "Oddly enough, we happen to have another transfer student today and they also happen to be from Kyoto."

"Sensei! Are they a boy or a girl?"

"It's a girl this time." The teacher replied to the most commonly asked question whenever a transfer student came. A cheer came from the boys in the room, excluding Kiyotsugu who was excited for different reasons and Rikuo who was sleeping.

"You can come in now!"

The front door or the class room pulled open with a click.

_Ah, this girl was the one from earlier. _Kana thought remembering that this girl asked for directions when she arrived at school. _So she was the transfer student..._

A very petite girl with a frail build appeared, she had short, dark purple hair which reached her neck. She clutched her bag in front of her in a very cute manner. Still with hervapid expression she bowed and introduced herself, revealing her Kyoto accent.

"My name is Keikain Yura, pleased to meet you."

* * *

PHWEEEEEEET! NURA, 100m 12.7 seconds!

_Ah, another unnecessary activity _Rikuo sighed as he walked towards the drink taps, the other boys catching up to him, slapping him on the back friendly.

"I lost to Nura again!"

"Geez, Nura how are you good at everything?"

"By the way Nura, how many times have you been told off for sleeping?" one boy joked "Is it a girl?"

_Well two girls and a yokai in fact, by I guess I can't tell him that. _"No way" Rikuo laughed back

More and more boys started to join in the conversation, all of them forming a circle around Rikuo.

* * *

"...so how did you go in your races?" Maki asked her newly made friend, Yura accompanied by Kana and Torii.

"Okay, I got 14.9 seconds." Yura replied.

"Damn it, you were faster than me by a second!"

"Yura-chan is the fastest girl in our class." Kana stated and Torii giggled along.

"Well, keeping my physical in control is part of my training, that's what Jii-chan told me!" Yura said proudly.

"Training?" The girls wondered what training a 15 year old girl would consider.

"Anyway, you might be the fastest in our class!"

"No, there might be one person faster..." Maki said as she turned towards the boys 100m race that was taking place.

The other three girls who were with her wondered what she was talking about and also turned to look at the race. They saw a brown-haired boy running metres in front of everyone else, everyone behind him were puffing as they continued to run their fastest but the boy in front was running apathetically as ever.

"..wow..." words just slipped out of Yura's mouth.

PHWEEEEEEET! NURA, 100m 12.7 seconds!

"Yep, as I thought. That guy stills dominates in sports, just like 10 years ago." Maki sighed, remembering how Nura was the only elementary school boy that entered the district competition and Kana and Torii nodded in agreement.

_Just like 10 years ago? _Yura was still caught by the odd choice of words. "Who is he? He didn't look like he was giving it all."

"Well yeah, I doubt he was using 50% of his energy."

"He is Nura Rikuo-kun, he sits next to you. Haven't you guys met yet?" Kana told Yura "Oh yeah, he has been sleeping through the entire day."

" Nope, he's the only person in the class I haven't interacted with." Yura said. "What did you guys mean by 10 years ago, haven't you all been together since elementary?" finally deciding to ask.

Kana cringed at the thought. "Um...well.."

"Don't worry Kana, I'll explain." Maki covered for her friend. " The truth is, 10 years ago he suddenly disappeared without telling anyone. He was also a transfer student from Kyoto that came yesterday, he doesn't have any memories of us though."

"I remember that his family was chaotic that week." Torii joined in.

"Oh yeah, that's true." Maki once again remembered that week where Kiyotsugu's Yokai love was at its peak. "It was then that rumors about the Nura clan being haunted."

"I haven't told you guys yet..." Kana shyly said, "But later that week, I went to check on him. I found out that Rikuo-kun's mother, Wakana-san, ...died but we didn't get the details."

"oh."

A tense atmosphere lingered in the air.

_Oh no! Just how did a talk about the fastest person in the class turn into a sad topic about someone's death! It was just like the time when Ryuuji-niichan and I tried to make onigiri but someone added too much water so it unfortunately turned out to be PORRIDGE! This situation is just the same! Someone added the water and messed everything up, just who added the water? ...oh wait...that was me, and in both that case and this one. _Yura looked left and then right, hoping to find something she could bring up as a topic they can talk happily about.

"h-hey, I just realised but Nura-kun is popular with both the boys and the girls." Yura said with a lack of a better idea when she noticed Rikuo in the middle of the circle of boys, acting all friendly. She also managed to see the girl on the sidelines squealing and cheering "Way to go Ri-chan!" _Ri-chan? Did he already have a fangirl nickname? _Yura thought, his popularity sure was overwhelming.

"SHHHHHHHHHH" Maki and Torii's face jumped out at her and they were using the 'zip your mouth' gesture.

_Was I not supposed to mention that? _Yura wondered, then she took a look at Kana. Once she saw Kana clenching her fist and the jealously that flashed through her eyes, she understood why she was told to be quiet.

Yura gestured back to Maki and Torii the 'okay' sign before she walked to the drink taps. From the corner of her eye, she saw a small girl on the rooftop looking down at them, more precisely, Rikuo. She was petite, smaller than Yura and long wavy hair. She kind of resembled a doll. But since she didn't have sport now meant that she was either a junior or a senior. _So he's not only popular with the girls in the class, but also the girls from other years. Ienaga-san, you have to face a strong enemy! I'll root for you!_

"But I never would have thought that Yura-chan would have a interest in Yokai." Torii asked cheerily.

"Interest? Well I guess you could call it that." Yura smiled.

"Hmmm?" Torii tilted her head "Anyway, Kiyotsugu-kun was overjoyed that you joined our club!"

"By the way, who's in the club?"

"Umm...me, you, Kana, Saori, Kiyotsugu-kun, Shima, he's the guy with the soccer ball right now." Torii pointed to a boy who was skilfully bouncing the ball on his feet. "And...Nura-kun."

"Nura-kun? I didn't think he would join a club, he seems to be apathetic about everything and sometimes would suddenly get very cheery."

"He was kind of forced to join by Kiyotsugu. It's a long story, so don't worry about it."

"Mmmmmm...Nura Rikuo-kun." Yura mused. _I would like to speak to him sometime..._

* * *

"SHODAISHO! NIDAIME! SANDAIME!" Karasu Tengu shouted through the Nura Household, hoping that one of the three heads would reply to his call.

"SHODAISHO! NIDAIME! SANDAIME!"

No reply.

"Karasu-Tengu? What's the matter so early in the morning?" Otome asked from where she was hanging up the laundry.

"Do you know where the three heads have gone?" Karasu-Tengu wiped off some sweat. If anyone knew where Rihan was then it would be his wife, and she might also happen to know where her son and her father in law also went. In general, she was up to date with most news.

"All three of them went out to do the same thing, using different methods of course." Otome added with a smile.

"HAAAAAAA?! They all went searching for Rikuo-sama!" Karasu-Tengu huffed "I've told them so many times that at least one of them has to stay back!"

"Oh, how did you know?"

"I was eaves dropping on their conversation yesterday." Karasu-Tengu admitted, feeling a bit guilty.

"I see." Otome said casually with not much of a shock.

"Do you know how they are doing it?"

"Mmmmm...I'm pretty sure Rikun is just searching blindly, Rihan-sama is probably a bit smarter and is searching in places where he thinks he will find Rikuo-kun." Otome giggled. "Though, I think Rikuo-kun mindset would have changed, so Rikun and Rihan-sama's ideas are as bad as each other."

"Ahhh, I see. What about Shodaisho?"

"Nurarihyon-sama went for information gathering, pretty smart right? I wonder how Rihan turned out like how he is."

Karasu-Tengu's eyes narrowed sharply. "And how is he doing it?"

"The usual, you know that weird, drinking buddy of his that's fascinated by Yokai and lots of random stuff?"

"Thank you Otome-sama." Karasu-Tengu politely took a bow and flew off raging. Otome was pretty sure he was going to find Nurarihyon, he was always upset when Nurarihyon-sama presented himself to humans.

"What a funny overseer." Otome chuckled, hanging up the rest of the laundry. "Rihan-sama, good luck."

* * *

**Ukiyoe Middle School, Class 2-3**

DING-DONG

"Yay! School has finally ended!" Maki remarked

"My muscles are sore from the fitness training today!" Torii said, rubbing her sore arm muscles as both girls walked over to Kana, on the other side of the classroom.

"Kana! Let's go eat ice-cream today!"

"NO! TODAY WE ARE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER MEEETING FOR THE KIYOJYUJI PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION SQUAD!" a booming voice interrupted the girls talk.

"Kiyotsugu-kun, save it for another day." Torii waved her hand in the air, gesturing Kiyotsugu to leave them alone for today. If only he was smart enough on gestures as he was on Yokai, because he had no idea what Torii telling him."Not everyone is here anyway."

"LET'S DO A ROLL CHECK!" Kiyotsugu continued at his own pace.

"He's no listening." Torii sighed, wondering how she was able to keep up with him for the past few years.

"SHIMA-KUN!"

"Hai!"

"MAKI-KUN!"

"ugh, really? I feel like a child."

"MAKI-KUN!"

"oh fine, Hai."

"TORII-KUN!"

"Should you know I'm here already?"

No reply. Torii was sure that Kiyotsugu really just wanted the reply.

"Yep, I'm here."

"IENAGA-KUN!"

Kana chuckled, "I'm here,"

"AND FINALLY, OUR NEWEST MEMBERS, NURA-KUN AND YURA-KUN!"

"..."

" NURA-KUN AND YURA-KUN!"

"..."

"Are they not here?"

"I told you from the beginning that not everyone was here!"

"HOW DARE THEY SKIP THE MEETIN-"

"so anyway, where did they go?" Maki cut Kiyotsugu off, figuring that it is best that they ignore him for now.

"Rikuo-I mean Nura-kun," Kana corrected "Ran out the second the bell went, he probably want to go home and sleep."

Maki and Torii nodded in agreement.

"Yura-chan said that she needed to go to the super sale at the supermarket or else she won't have anything to eat for dinner."

* * *

"These Manju's are really the best!" Rikuo took another bite into the piping hot manju. "I guess I'll save one for Tengu." The memory of Tengu yesterday crying waterfalls of tear because of a single manju was a spectacle.

Rikuo was walking back towards his apartment, after rushing straight out of school and also just happened to buy some snacks along the way. He concluded that the best way to escape from Kiyotsugu's clutches was to leave without him noticing, or else he'll be caught up in another mess.

Today had already left everyone questioning whether Rikuo today and Rikuo yesterday were the same person. Yesterday Rikuo put up a cheery, cute, good student facade and responded nicely to everybody's request, but today's change was inevitable. Today, he was the cool, carefree, naughty-boy that always got told off for sleeping. But he didn't forget to act friendly.

"I wonder where Tengu went." Rikuo scanned his surroundings and heightened his senses but no response for any yokai lurking behind shrubberies or power poles.

Tengu had left yesterday night because of an urgent call. "Was it really that urgent?" Then Rikuo remembered hoe Tengu's face dropped at the sudden message that a crow had flew by and passed on, he even left without bidding 'good night'. Not that it was necessary to Rikuo, but this was the first time Tengu forgot about his presence. Now he sort of understands how Tengu feels when his presence is forgotten.

"It must be 'her', " Rikuo mused. The only times Tengu was as antsy and distraught were either when Rikuo was doing something reckless or when there was new from or pertaining to 'her'.

"If he isn't back now, then that means that the yokai that was watching me during sport was someone else...Oh well, I'll deal with it, when the time comes."

_"Geez, Rikuo-sama! Again with your carefree-ness, you need to be prepared for the worst!"_

Rikuo rubbed his eyes, Tengu's small scolds now seem like a part of his daily life that he was even hallucinating that he even started hallucinating that Tengu was there.

"Must be the lack of sleep." Rikuo assured himself that it wasn't because he was missing Tengu, but it was because he was tired. He walked up the stairs to his apartment room and saw a small silhouette in front of the room door next to his.

_Must be the new, clumsy neighbour _Rikuo was sure that it wasn't Aoi, thankfully, because he didn't feel the eccentric vibes and this silhouette was more petite.

"Ahhhh, I didn't manage to get the sale! I was too indecisive and then suddenly they were all gone! Next time I got to grab then think or else those wives will beat me to it! No next time I will win! Next I won't be eating just bread, I will be eating the special food from the sale!" a voice with an accent said.

"Phhhtt" Rikuo let out a small laugh listening to this girl talk to herself. _Hahahaha she's getting depressed and comforting herself at the same time, what a funny person! I can see that she's the gullible type. But where have I heard this voice? Earlier today? Or was it from Kyoto?_

The girl turned around after hearing the small chuckle and immediately bowed, "Nice to meet you!" she started to scratch the back of her head and lift her head, "Sorry, I tend to talk to myself...Ah NURA-KUN!" She shouted out in surprise once she took a look at Rikuo. "Were you my neighbour?"

"Ah" Rikuo dropped the rest of his Manju once he took a good look at the girl in front of her.

The dark, purple hair.

Ding.

The small build.

Ding.

Kyoto Accent.

Ding.

Clumsy and Gullible nature.

Ding.

_GEH! YURA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN TOKYO?!_

* * *

_A/N: heheheh I hope you like this chapter~ please spend some time and review :D I would like to know what could be improved ( like romantic scene and such) , what would you like to see more of and things you like :D Thankss for reading _


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